Three killed, 19 hurt as bus tumbles into Austrian canal

A bus loaded with tourists from Moldova went out of control on a road in north-eastern Austria and plunged into a canal early today, killing three people and injuring 19 others, some critically.

The bus overturned shortly after 5am (4am Irish time) on the A2 motorway in the town of Wiener Neustadt, about 25 miles south-east of Vienna, local fire department officials said.

It came to rest in a roadside canal about 5 feet deep, trapping some of the victims beneath the wreckage.

Rescue workers shut down the road for several hours until the victims could be extracted and taken to hospitals and the wreckage could be cleared.

Investigators said the cause of the accident remained unclear.