Two Deaths Confirmed After Bus Plunges into Yangtze River

Rescuers have found two bodies after a bus plunged off a bridge into the Yangtze River in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing on Sunday, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

Witnesses told the Beijing News that the bus broke through a guardrail and fell into the river after swerving into the wrong lane. The official People’s Daily reported on Monday that 15 people were on the bus.

Rescuers located the wrecked bus 75 meters (246 feet) below the river’s surface, according to a police report from Monday morning, thecover.cn reported. From above, oil on the river’s surface was the only visible sign of the wreckage, Beijing News reported.

The driver of the car hit by the bus was hospitalized, state-run news outlet 81.cn reported.

More than 70 rescue boats were deployed to the scene, the semi-official China News reported on Monday. Three floating cranes with 20-ton, 45-ton and 60-ton capacities are also being used to help retrieve the bus, Xinhua reported Monday.

According to data from the bus company, three of the passengers had boarded using senior-citizens cards, thecover.cn reported. Police are investigating the bus company and checking security videos.

Contact reporter Tang Ziyi (ziyitang@caixin.com)

A previous version of this story incorrectly described what happened to the bus before it fell.