Four rescued as bus plunges into Seine river near Paris

This handout photograph taken and released on April 30, 2026, by French Police Nationale shows rescue teams working in the area where a bus with passengers on board and a car fell into the Seine river in Juvisy-sur-Orge, on the outskirts of Paris. HANDOUT / AFP

Four people were rescued from the River Seine near Paris on Thursday, April 30, after a bus driven by a trainee driver collided with a parked vehicle before plunging into the water, officials said.

The bus was travelling through the town of Juvisy-sur-Orge, southeast of the French capital, when it veered off the road and fell into the Seine, prosecutors told AFP. "The driver and three other people were on the bus," prosecutors added. "They have all been rescued," they said, adding that the police have opened an investigation. Officials did not provide details on the condition of the rescued people.

The bus was being operated by a trainee in the final stages of her instruction, said a spokesperson for the IDFM transport authority. Both she and her supervising driver tested negative for drugs and alcohol, he said.

French emergency services and firefighters work as a bus with passengers fell into the River Seine in Juvisy-sur-Orge, near Paris, France, April 30, 2026. ABDUL SABOOR / REUTERS

Towing teams remove a bus from the Seine river after it fell with passengers on board into the river, in Juvisy-sur-Orge, on the outskirts of Paris, on April 30, 2026. THOMAS SAMSON / AFP

Several rescue boats, a drone and helicopters were deployed as part of a recovery effort. Sixteen fire engines along with 34 firefighters and 60 police officers were involved, the prefecture said.

The bus was completely submerged under water near a bridge while the parked car struck by the vehicle also ended up in the river, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist reported. A witness told AFP she saw the bus sweep the other vehicle with it as it went over the edge and into the water.