A bus carrying 70 people has plunged into a lake in a horror crash in Norway on Boxing Day. Reports suggest there have been fatalities caused by the incident on Norway’s northwestern coast, according to public broadcaster NRK.
Nordland hospital has been alerted to the situation. Bent Are Eilertsen, chief of Staff of the Nordland Police District said he believed there were between 60 and 70 people on board.
The extent of the damage is currently unclear. The Mirror reports some passengers were taken to a nearby school.
According to Norwegian outlet VG, the bus drove off the road and crashed in Åsvatnet lake. Emergency services have been sent to the area, including rescue helicopters and volunteers from the Red Cross.
The bus is understood to have driven through a guardrail before falling down a slope and into the water. There were reports of a strong wind and snow drifts, according to local journalists.
Nordland Communications manager Randi Angelsen told VG: “Additional resources called in, personnel, ambulances, helicopters and aircraft resources to transport injured people to hospital, the hospital writes on its website.”
A man who lives in the nearby town of Svolvær told local outlets: “There were a lot of emergency services, panic and chaos at the scene. It looked like they were in control. The helicopter landed just as we were there.”
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