- This story is developing, more to follow
Several people have been killed after a bus ploughed into a bus shelter in central Stockholm today.
The crash of the double decker bus happened in the Ostermalm area of the Swedish capital at around 3pm local time.
Police have since cordoned off Valhallavägen, the street near the KTH Royal Institute of Technology where the crash happened, and are looking for clues to determine the cause of the crash.
Local media reported that three people have died, and two were seriously hurt, though police have not yet confirmed how were involved in the incident.
Two people have reportedly been taken to the Karolinska Institute, a medical university in Stockholm, to treat their serious injuries.
Cops have since arrested the bus driver, and have opened an aggravated manslaughter probe in light of the tragedy.
Dozens of emergency service workers, including police, paramedics and firefighters, are still on the scene.
Photos of the bus following the crash appear to show the windscreen of the bus severely cracked, while other images 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.
Several people have been killed in a bus crash in central Stockholm today, police have confirmed
The crash happened in the Ostermalm area of the Swedish capital at around 3pm local time
One local woman told Expressen: ‘I was sitting on the couch and heard bangs. I got really stressed’.
Another witness told SVT Nyheter, a local broadcaster, that several people came into their shop crying following the incident.
A spokesperson for Stockholm’s public transport agency, SL, told local media: ‘It is a serious incident’.
The city is diverting many of its bus routes that travel down Valhallavägen, which is being closed until further notice.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Transdev, a bus company, confirmed that one of their vehicles was the one involved in the incident.
Spokesperson Lovisa Åbom told local media: ‘It is one of our buses that was involved and it is a double-decker. I also know that there are injuries, but I have no information about how it happened at the moment’.
Ebba Busch, Sweden’s deputy prime minister, said in a post on X: ‘Devastated by the terrible news that people have lost their lives after a bus crashed into a bus shelter in central Stockholm.
‘The government is closely following the developments and is in close contact with the relevant authorities.’
More to follow.
