Bus plunges off motorway bridge in Polish capital Warsaw, one dead
By Joanna Plucinska
WARSAW (Reuters) - A municipal bus in the Polish capital Warsaw plunged off a motorway bridge on Thursday, killing one person and injuring 17, authorities said.
A Reuters witness saw that half of the bus fell on the road below the bridge, with the front window completely shattered, while the rear half was still on the motorway at the beginning of a slip road.
A large group of firemen and other emergency workers sought to lift and remove the wreckage from the bridge in the hours after the crash.
Confirming the one death in the accident, Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski said five of the injured were in a serious condition. "At this moment they are fighting for their...lives," he said.
Police were looking into the cause of the accident, which occurred around midday.
A Warsaw police spokesman said initial findings suggested the driver, who is now in hospital, may have fainted while driving.
Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski said a special commission would be called to investigate the cause of the accident and that psychological support would be provided to those affected by the crash.
(Reporting by Joanna Plucinska and Agnieszka Barteczko; Writing by Alan Charlish; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Gareth Jones)
