By Associated Press
9:41 a.m. CDT, September 22, 2009
RADEVORMWALD, Germany (AP) — A bus came off the road and plunged down a river embankment in western Germany on Tuesday, killing five people and injuring several others, authorities said.
One person was seriously injured in the late-morning crash at Radevormwald, east of Duesseldorf, and another six escaped with light injuries from the bus, according to police. The driver, a 45-year-old man, was among the dead.
The bus was on a regular local route and had set off from a stop about 400 yards short of the accident site. There were about 15 people on board at the time of the crash.
Police said the bus gained speed on a steep downhill stretch for reasons that were not immediately clear, before breaking through a crash barrier on a bend and plunging about 65 feet (20 meters) down the embankment of the Wupper river.
"It sounded as though a house was collapsing," 42-year-old resident Ferdinand Stock said.
The bus came to rest on its side at the bottom of the wooded embankment, with part of its rear section in the river. Fire officials had to cut down several trees to clear room for a crane to recover the bus.
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