STOCKHOLM: Several people were killed and others injured when a bus rammed into a bus stop queue in central Stockholm during Friday’s afternoon rush hour, police said.
Shortly after the crash, images in Swedish media showed a swarm of police, ambulances and emergency vehicles at the scene, with rescue crews crouched down along the underside of the double-decker bus, appearing to help people trapped underneath.
“There are both injured and deceased people in the incident. Police are for the moment not commenting on the number, gender or ages of the victims,” said a police statement.
Health authorities spokeswoman Michelle Marcher told AFP that two seriously injured people had been transported to hospital.
Police spokesperson Nadya Norton said the cause of the accident was still unknown.
“The investigation will have to determine what happened. It’s too early to say and I don’t want to speculate,” she told AFP.
She said the bus driver had been arrested and a manslaughter investigation had been opened as a matter of routine.
“We need to question him, then we’ll see if he’s going to be released or detained,” Norton said.
Police received the first reports of the accident at 3:23 pm (1423 GMT).
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said his thoughts were with the victims and their families.
“I have received the tragic news that several people have died and been injured at a bus stop in central Stockholm,” he wrote on X.
“People who might have been on their way home to family, friends, or a quiet evening at home. We do not yet know the cause, but right now my thoughts are primarily with those affected and their loved ones.”
A woman identified as Michelle Mac Key told daily Expressen she stepped off another bus at the scene just after the accident happened.
“I crossed the road and saw the double-decker bus that had mowed down an entire bus stop queue,” she said.
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