All four people aboard a public bus were rescued on Thursday after the vehicle veered off a road in Juvisy-sur-Orge, a town roughly 20 kilometres south of Paris, and plunged into the River Seine. The bus, driven by a trainee in the final stages of her practical instruction, struck a parked car before going over the edge near a bridge; the collision dragged the parked vehicle into the river as well. Both the trainee driver and the supervising instructor who was travelling with her tested negative for drugs and alcohol, and the cause of the incident remains under investigation.

The four people on board — the trainee, her supervising "lead driver", and two passengers — were pulled from the water before the bus was fully submerged near a bridge. Bystanders responded quickly, rushing to a nearby barge and throwing out life rings before emergency services arrived. The scale of the response was significant: more than 90 firefighters, divers and police officers took part, supported by several rescue boats, a drone and helicopters. The Juvisy-sur-Orge mayor confirmed that everyone on board was "quickly rescued and, thankfully, safe and sound", though officials initially cautioned that the final count of casualties was still being determined.

Eyewitness accounts paint a vivid picture of the moments before impact. One witness, Elisabeth, described how the bus missed a right turn near the riverbank and "went straight on and dragged a car down with it" rather than following the road. Another bystander, 19-year-old Amine, said the loud crash made him fear a bomb had gone off, and that it seemed as though "every firefighter in the department was there". Video shared by the local government showed the bus being retrieved from the water by early afternoon.

Authorities from Île-de-France Mobilités, the regional public transport body that oversees bus and rail services across the greater Paris area, confirmed they had launched an internal investigation into the incident. A criminal inquiry has also been opened by prosecutors. The bus was recovered from the Seine later in the day, along with the parked car it had swept into the river. Officials did not release details on the physical condition of those who were rescued.