School bus crashes into pedestrians killing three in Spain

Spanish authorities said Monday as many as three people lost their lives after a school bust lost control due to a brake failure and crashed into pedestrians in the southern city of Cadiz, leaving another three injured.

The firefighters of the city said on X — formerly called Twitter — that the bus ran over several people who were on the pavement," adding that no one on the bus was injured.

Several videos surfacing on social media showed firefighters dragging a palm tree off the top of the bus which came to a stop outside of a department store.

The front windows of the bus were completely destroyed.

Andalusian government said in a statement that three injured people were taken to hospital "one of whom has serious injuries".

"It appears to have been a brake failure because the first images showed the bus arriving at high speed, unable to brake and the movement the bus made is consistent with this idea", Cadiz official Jose Pacheco told reporters.

The driver of the bus tested negative for alcohol, the city council said in a statement.

The head of the regional government of Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno, said he was "overwhelmed" by the news of the "unfortunate accident" in Cadiz.

The incident comes over a month after a train hit seven people as they were attempting to cross a railway line in Catalonia, just 12 miles north of Barcelona killing four.

Spanish media said a music festival was held nearby on Sunday night, the eve of a holiday in Catalonia.

"We searched for other possible victims near the train. We did not find any others. We also helped evacuate the area and take the injured to ambulances," the regional firefighting force wrote on X.

Transport Minister Raquel Sanchez had offered her condolences to the families of the victims and expressed her support on social media for the emergency services workers dealing "with this very difficult situation."

The head of the regional government of Catalonia, Pere Aragones, said he was "completely distraught" by the tragedy.

"Emergency services are continuing to work and offering support to the victims and their families. police are investigating the causes of the accident," he added.

According to an AFP report, in June 2010 an express train struck a group of people who were crossing the railway in the beach resort of Castelldefels, killing 12 people.