The driver is formally charged with traffic law violations due to negligence and was questioned on Friday morning. His defense attorney Stig Mortensen tells Norwegian VG that the driver denies any wrongdoing.
His perception is that there were extreme weather conditions and that strong winds caused the bus to veer off the road.
Passengers on board claim in interviews that there were too many passengers on the bus and that the driver was driving too fast. The driver also denies this; furthermore, there is a tachograph installed on the bus that can prove the speed.
A child in their tenth year, a woman in her 30s, and one between 20 and 30 years old died in the accident, according to the police, as reported by Norwegian TV2.
Eleven more were taken to the hospital with injuries after the bus they were traveling in veered off the road and ended up in a lake near Highway E10 in Hadsel municipality.
The deceased have not yet been identified, said the police in a press release on Friday morning.
The police have reported that there were 58 people on board the bus, but the figure is uncertain since there was no passenger list. Therefore, divers were deployed to examine Lake Åsvatnet, near Raftsundet, where the bus veered off. The bus was salvaged early on Friday.
The bus is being examined by the Norwegian state's accident investigation commission to clarify the cause of the accident.
The accident occurred when the bus was on its way from Narvik to Lofoten. Many of the passengers were tourists, including from China, Singapore, India, Malaysia, and the Netherlands.
