Rescuers have found bodies of five passengers who went missing
after the bus they took fell into a river Thursday afternoon in
Alaer City, in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, police said
on Friday.
Three bodies were found in the 40-seat bus which was lifted out
of water six hours after the accident that occurred at 3:40 PM
Thursday, according to police.
Two bodies were found on Friday in the river, bringing the death
toll in the accident to five.
Two rescued passengers claimed that their relatives, both male,
are still missing after identifying the remains. The previous
report from the police said there are six people missing after the
accident.
Another 12 people on the bus, including the driver, survived but
were slightly injured.
Rescue workers are continuing searching for the missing one.
The driver lost control of the bus because of an unidentified
malfunction of the steering wheel, a witness said, adding that he
did not know what the malfunction was. The driver has been detained
by police.
Initial investigation into the accident also shows that four
bikes in the bus blocked the way of the passengers to escape.
(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2007)