The single-vehicle accident involving a double-decker bus travelling between Växjö and Ljungby occurred at around 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
"It is a serious accident, considering that a bus carrying several people has overturned," says an operator at the rescue services.
A large operation involving the rescue services, ambulances and police was launched at the scene. One of the Swedish Maritime Administration’s helicopters also took part in the operation, according to the rescue services.
In the evening, police announced that an 18-year-old man had died in the accident.
Patients at several hospitals
In total, more than 40 people were affected by the accident, Region Kronoberg (regional health authority) says on its website.
The injured were taken to hospitals in Växjö, Ljungby and Karlskrona.
One patient was taken by helicopter to Karlskrona. Some patients were first taken to a hospital in Växjö and then transferred to other hospitals, says Marie Lendahls, press secretary at Region Kronoberg.
Overnight, ten people are being treated at hospitals in Kronoberg. Eight are being treated in Växjö, two of them in intensive care. The other two are in hospital in Ljungby.
Emergency staffing
The region, which has gone into emergency mode, had crisis support teams on site during the evening to help those affected and their relatives.
The bus, which was operated for Länstrafiken i Kronoberg (Kronoberg County’s public transport operator), overturned. Traffic director Pär Welander has no information about how the accident happened.
We have had buses at the scene that have taken people with minor injuries to, among other places, the health centre in Växjö and Ljungby Hospital, he tells TT.
Welander told Dagens Nyheter that the bus was a "direct bus with mainly schoolchildren and commuters."
Major traffic disruption
Police are investigating the accident and will question the driver and passengers to determine what caused it.
"We will interview the injured as soon as possible," says police spokesperson Filip Annas.
The accident site was cordoned off for a technical investigation.
According to the Swedish Transport Administration, the accident has caused major traffic disruption, and traffic is being rerouted. The road section will not reopen before 7 a.m. on Tuesday at the earliest.
