Three killed as double-decker bus rams into pedestrians in Stockholm

London: A city bus has slammed into pedestrians in central Stockholm in a horror scene that left at least three people dead and three others badly injured, police said.

The driver has been arrested and police said they were treating the deaths as manslaughter after the double-decker vehicle rammed people waiting at a bus stop, with some accounts claiming it swerved toward the victims.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the victims included people who might have been on their way home to family and friends.

“We do not yet know the cause of this, but right now my thoughts are primarily with those who have been affected and their loved ones,” he wrote on X.

“Police, ambulance, and rescue services now have a very difficult and important job to do. I urge everyone to show consideration and understanding for their tasks.”

Swedish news agency TT said police confirmed that the driver had been detained and would be questioned to determine what happened. The front of the bus appeared to have been seriously damaged.

Authorities were alerted to the crash just after 3pm on Friday, Stockholm time, (1am on Saturday AEDT) when the vehicle struck people at the bus shelter on Valhallavagen, a street in the Swedish capital’s Östermalm district.

Several reports said the public transport bus was out of service at the time, with no passengers on board.

There were six casualties in the incident, a spokesperson for Stockholm’s rescue services said in early reports, without confirming the precise numbers of those killed or injured.

Images posted to social media show the blue double-decker bus had mounted the pavement when it came to a stop on the side of a busy city street.

Rescue workers sought to get people out from underneath the bus and treat those on the pavement around the crash site. The bus was surrounded by smashed glass and broken metal from what appeared to be the bus shelter.

Police said they were investigating the incident as manslaughter, but added that “the cause of what happened is still unknown.”

“Police are for the moment not commenting on the number, gender or ages of the victims,” the police said in a statement.

A spokesperson from public transport company Transdev confirmed that the bus was one of its vehicles.

With Reuters, AP

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