Funerals are taking place for six people who died after a bus plunged into a river as it crossed a bridge in northwestern Galicia, officials said.
The accident occurred on Christmas Eve evening near the city of Vigo and on the border with Portugal. Regional newspaper La Voz de Galicia said the bus was carrying people visiting their loved ones in prison in Monterroso, central Galicia.
Two people, including the bus driver, in their 60s, were rescued and taken to hospital.
Emergency services recovered two bodies near the site, while four others were later found in the river, according to rescuers.
“Rescue teams confirm that all people missing have been recovered,” Galicia emergency services said on Twitter, announcing the suspension of search efforts, reports RTE.
Authorities said a motorist first raised the alarm after noticing a safety rail on the bridge had been damaged. Rescuers then received a call from the bus which helped them locate the wreckage.
Rescue efforts were interrupted during the night due to the storm, but resumed at dawn with the help of Alpine rescuers and a helicopter.
The accident occurred “at a spot with a steep gradient”, making access difficult, said a spokesman for the Guardia Civil in the city of Pontevedra.
The authorities said that the rescue operations were also complicated by heavy rains during the night, which caused a sharp rise in the level of the Lerez River, into which the bus fell.
They said the cause of the crash is not yet known, but bad weather may have played a role.
“We do not yet know the causes with certainty” but “it is true that the weather conditions were very bad that night”, said Alfonso Rueda, the president of the Galicia region, reports RTE.
Mr. Rueda later posted images of his visit to the crash site on social media “to encourage and thank the security and emergency responders for their professionalism and commitment”, reports RTE.
“They have been there from the first minute in difficult conditions. My condolences to the relatives of the victims,” he wrote on Twitter, reports RTE.
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