A bus plunged into the Seine on the morning of Thursday, April 30, after a trainee driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle.
The incident happened at around 9:30 when the bus fell into the Seine river near the town of Juvisy-sur-Orge in the southern part of the Île-de-France region.
Le Parisien reported that there were three people on board besides the driver, her instructor and two passengers at the time.
The driver also struck a parked car, which was unoccupied, dragging the vehicle into the river along with the bus near Quai Jean-Pierre Timbaud.
The driver and the other three people on board were rescued from the water.
A vehicle is lifted by crane from the riverMairie de Juvisy-sur-Orge/ Facebook
Social media images taken from the scene showed the bus floating slightly submerged in the water.
Around 11:00, a number of boats were observed navigating near the accident site, while a drone and a helicopter had also been deployed, AFP reported.
The Mairie de Juvisy-sur-Orge confirmed the incident in a Facebook post.
“This Thursday morning, near the Danaux bus station, a bus fell into the Seine, taking with it a car parked along the quay. At this time, no serious injuries are reported.”
The mairie said that firefighters, divers, the police and emergency services were called to the scene.
It also confirmed that a crane had been dispatched to the riverside to try to remove the bus from the water.
Social media images showed a car being lifted from the Seine with a crane.
“Vehicle recovery operations are currently underway,” the mairie said. “We ask that you avoid the area as much as possible in order to facilitate the work of emergency services.”
Police sources told Le Parisien that the driver had a category D licence, which is required to operate buses.
The bus operator Île-de-France Mobilités said that an alcohol and drug tests performed on the driver in the aftermath of the accident came back negative.
A police source said that the driver had been taken into custody, AFP reported.
