Horror as bus flips over in raging Samoan river

The terrifying moment a bus carrying 40 passengers flipped over in a fast-flowing river in Samoa was caught on camera.

The bus is seen arching into a ditch and being submerged in the river water in Savaii, Samoa. It was travelling on a flooded road and dropped into the river which usually passes beneath it.

A 12-year-old and five-year-old were killed in the crash.

Passengers, including tourists, were taken to hospital and suffered broken bones among other serious injuries.

Scott Maclaren, who filmed the accident and posted the footage on YouTube, and said: "The current was too strong, and it slid towards the lower edge of the road. At this point people started screaming. There was a drop of about 1m from road to river, and as the bus went in it turned on its roof."

Australian backpacker Ruth O'Leary, 21, told The Sun: "As it was rolling, I actually thought my neck had broken and I had broken all my bones, because our bodies were being smashed around so much.

"I was seeing flashes of different colours and just thinking, oh my god, this is the end, I can't get out of here.

"I didn't know where the top of the water was and then I saw this light... so I swam up, and all I could see was babies and mothers and old people in the water - and everyone was screaming."

According to the Daily Mail, tourists and locals waded into the water to drag passengers out.

Local police reportedly investigated allegations that the bus driver was drinking.

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