A BUS driver has been jailed for six years after he fell asleep at the wheel and killed seven people.
Dramatic footage shows the bus violently veering off the road in Russia and disappearing nose-first into the 10ft-deep murky river.
The moment the bus begins to fall into the St Petersburg river Credit: East2West
The nose of the 262 bus smashes into the icy waters Credit: East2West
The bus is submerged up to its roof by the freezing waters Credit: East2West
The recovery operation is quickly started after the crash Credit: AP
Rakhmatshukh Kurbonov pleaded guilty to causing death through negligence after the horror crash.
He was sentenced to six years in prison and received a driving ban for two-and-a-half-years.
Judges at the Oktyabrsky District Court in St Petersburg heard that the dozy driver was “exhausted” before the tragic incident.
Police said: “He was in a tired state, worsening his reaction and attention, as well as endangering traffic safety.”
The number 262 bus was carrying 20 passengers at the time of the disaster in May 2024.
A witness said that the bus swerved before the awful collision.
He said; “He started hitting cars that were parked. Everything happened quickly.”
A student called Mikhail said: “I saw the moment the bus hit the car, it spun around and it began to fall.
“The bus went sideways, smashed the curb, smashed a fence and fell sideways.”
Another witness said: “The driver of the bus, when turning from Bolshaya Morskaya Street to Potseluyev (‘Kissing’) Bridge, lost control, the bus spun around, it broke through the fence and fell into the water.”
Alongside the seven who died, eight passengers had to be heroically pulled from the watery wreckage through the roof hatch.
Another ten miraculously managed to escape on their own and were collected by rescue boats in the Moika River, according to reports.
At least five people were taken to hospital.
The sleepy bus driver was among those who escaped and was immediately detained, with a criminal case opened.
The nightmare crash saw the bus smash into two cars and a safety barrier before tumbling into the Moika River in Saint Petersburg.
This caused the vehicle to swerve, smash into a bridge and sink into the freezing waters.
The bus’ operator, LLC Taxi have been found guilty of gross safety violations.
NewsflashThe driver with blood on his hands is led to the dock at the Oktyabrsky District Court[/caption]
NewsflashThe disgraced bus driver sits in the dock[/caption]