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FOUR people have died and others are missing after a bus plunged into a river while crossing a bridge.

The accident happened in Spain's northwestern Galicia region near Vigo and the border with Portugal.

The bus plunged off the bridge and into the river
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The bus plunged off the bridge and into the riverCredit: Reuters
At least four people died in the tragic accident
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At least four people died in the tragic accidentCredit: AFP

The bus skidded off the road on the bridge for reasons that remain unclear and plunged into the water at around 9.30pm on Saturday night.

The accident took place "at a spot with a steep gradient", making access difficult, said a Civil Guard spokesman in the city of Pontevedra, around 18 miles from the site of the accident.

The emergency services said two corpses had been recovered while two others, including the bus driver, had been rescued and taken to hospital.

Spain's Civil Guard later said two more bodies were found on Sunday.

The woman's body was recovered but a man's corpse was yet to be retrieved.

"There could have been more people inside the bus," the emergency services had said on Twitter and posted a photo of the vehicle in turbulent waters.

The river remained above its overflow threshold throughout the night.

That forced emergency rescue workers to suspend the operation for nearly two hours due to the bad weather and terrain conditions before resuming in the morning.

The Civil Guard said the bus driver had tested negative for alcohol.

It comes after seven people were killed in a horror crash when a bus smashed with two lorries before bursting into flames in November.

The tragic accident happened in Tutak in eastern Turkey sparking a massive blaze that engulfed the three vehicles.

Shocking footage showed thick black smoke billowing from the scene.

In October 18 people including children died near Karachi in Pakistan after the coach that was taking flood victims home caught fire.

They were hit on their way home after fleeing the worst-flood-hit areas.

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