Bus recovered 4 days after deadly plunge off Chinese bridge

In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, a bus is lifted out of the Yangtze River by a floating crane in Wanzhou in southwestern China’s Chongqing Municipality on Oct. 31, 2018.  AP

BEIJING — Official Chinese media say rescuers have salvaged the wreckage of a bus that plunged off a bridge into the Yangtze River four days earlier and have recovered nine bodies.

Xinhua News Agency reported a floating crane pulled the wreck out of the river Wednesday night. Rescuers are expected to enter the bus to search for other victims. Fifteen people including the driver were on the bus.

The bus suddenly veered into the wrong lane and collided with an oncoming car on Sunday in Chongqing before it drove off the bridge. The Yangtze is prone to dangerous currents and other hazards.

The black box recording the bus’s mechanical condition and operational details was found early Wednesday morning and handed to police for investigation. /ee