Dec. 26 (UPI) — Rescuers on Monday discovered a seventh body in Spain’s Galicia region after a bus crashed through the guardrails on a bridge and fell 246 feet into the Lérez River on Christmas Eve.
One passenger and the bus driver survived the plunge.
The incident was first reported by a motorist who discovered guardrails on the bridge had been smashed, but was unable to locate the bus in the river below. Emergency services then received a phone call from one of the survivors inside the bus.
Rescue efforts were initially suspended after six bodies were discovered, but began again when the surviving passenger’s son told authorities that one person who had been on the bus was still unaccounted for.
Three of the bodies were found inside the bus while the rest were found in the river. Six of the those killed are of Spanish nationality, while a seventh is Peruvian.
The government delegate of Galicia, Jose Minones, visited the site on Monday and tweeted images of the crash site along with condolences from the Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
The cause of the crash is not yet known but Spanish authorities are currently investigating.
