In this image taken from Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018 surveillance video footage run by China's CCTV via AP Video, a passenger strikes a bus driver with an object moments before the bus plunged off a bridge into the Yangtze River in Wanzhou in southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality. Police say a brawl between a passenger and a bus driver was the cause of the bus plunging off a bridge and killing more than a dozen people in southwestern China on Sunday. (CCTV via AP Video) (Anonymous) </s> CHONGQING: A deadly bus accident in China's Chongqing city last Sunday was caused by a fist fight between the driver and a passenger, said local authorities on Friday (Nov 2).

The bus plunged into a section of the Yangtze River in Wanzhou district, killing all 15 people on board, including the driver.

A video retrieved from the black box of the bus shows a passenger scuffling with the driver just moments before the crash.

Dashcam footage from an oncoming vehicle shows the bus veering off its lane, colliding with a car and smashing through a bridge guardrail before plunging into the river.

READ: Two dead after Chine bus plunges 60m into river: State media

According to Wanzhou police, the fight started after a female passenger missed her stop and asked the driver to pull over immediately. He refused, and she went on to hit his head with her mobile phone before they exchanged blows.

The driver then lost control of the bus.



More than 70 rescue boats were deployed to the scene, reported China Daily. The wreck was pulled out of the river on Wednesday night by a floating crane.

Thirteen bodies were reported to have been found. Two are still missing. </s> BEIJING (AP) - A bus has plunged off a large bridge spanning China's Yangtze River, with state media saying two people were killed.

Police say the bus suddenly veered into the wrong lane and collided with an oncoming car Sunday before breaking through a guard rail and falling into the wide river in Chongqing in southwestern China.

Divers and other rescue workers were searching for the passengers and driver. Police said that more than 10 people were on the bus.

State broadcaster CCTV said that two people had been confirmed dead.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Rescuers conduct search and rescue operation at the site where a bus has plunged off a bridge into the Yangtze River in Wanzhou in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018. Police say the bus suddenly veered into the wrong lane and collided with an oncoming car Sunday before breaking through a guard rail and falling into the wide river. (Chinatopix via AP)

Rescuers conduct search and rescue operation at the site where a bus has plunged off a bridge into the Yangtze River in Wanzhou in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018. Police say the bus suddenly veered into the wrong lane and collided with an oncoming car Sunday before breaking through a guard rail and falling into the wide river. (Chinatopix via AP)

A police boat parks under a bridge where a bus plunged off after colliding with another vehicle in Wanzhou in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018. Police say the bus suddenly veered into the wrong lane and collided with an oncoming car Sunday before breaking through a guard rail and falling into China's Yangtze River. (Chinatopix via AP)

A diver prepares to conduct search and rescue operation at the site where a bus has plunged off a bridge into the Yangtze River in Wanzhou in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018. Police say the bus suddenly veered into the wrong lane and collided with an oncoming car Sunday before breaking through a guard rail and falling into the wide river. (Chinatopix via AP) </s> BEIJING (AP) - A fight between a bus driver and a passenger who missed her stop caused the bus to plunge off a high bridge into China's Yangtze River, police said Friday. All 15 people onboard are presumed dead.

An eight-second surveillance video released by Chongqing city police on its Weibo social media account shows the two arguing and grappling with each other in the moments before the bus suddenly veered across oncoming traffic and off the bridge Sunday morning.

Buses in China often have surveillance cameras.

A statement from Wanzhou district police said the 48-year-old female passenger asked the driver to pull over after she missed her stop, but he didn't. She walked up to the driver's seat and scolded him. The driver turned his head back several times arguing.

As the quarrel escalated, the statement said, the woman hit the driver on the head with her cellphone. The driver took his right arm off the steering wheel and fought back. He grabbed her arm when she attacked him again, then hastily steered to the left, sending the bus out of control.

The Chongqing police also posted dashcam video from a nearby car showing the bus colliding with an oncoming vehicle before smashing through a guardrail and falling into the Yangtze, a major river in southwestern China.

In this image taken from Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018 surveillance video footage run by China's CCTV via AP Video, a bus driver strikes a passenger moments before the bus plunged off a bridge into the Yangtze River in Wanzhou in southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality. Police say a brawl between a passenger and a bus driver was the cause of the bus plunging off a bridge and killing more than a dozen people in southwestern China on Sunday. (CCTV via AP Video)

The Wanzhou police statement said the behavior of the driver and the passenger seriously endangered public safety and violated the law.

Rescuers lifted the wreck of the bus from the river Wednesday night. Thirteen bodies have been found and two remain missing, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

In this image taken from Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018 surveillance video footage run by China's CCTV via AP Video, a passenger strikes a bus driver with an object moments before the bus plunged off a bridge into the Yangtze River in Wanzhou in southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality. Police say a brawl between a passenger and a bus driver was the cause of the bus plunging off a bridge and killing more than a dozen people in southwestern China on Sunday. (CCTV via AP Video)

FILE - In this Oct. 31, 2018, file photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a bus is lifted out of the Yangtze River by a floating crane in Wanzhou in southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality. Police said on Friday, Nov. 2, 2018, a brawl between a passenger and a bus driver was the cause of the bus plunging off a bridge and killing more than a dozen people in southwestern China on Sunday. (Wang Quanchao/Xinhua via AP, File) </s> A bus that ran off a bridge in China's southwestern Chongqing city earlier this week, plunging into the Yangtze River and killing at least 15 people apparently occurred when a passenger assaulted the driver, according to newly recovered video taken inside the vehicle.

The footage, distributed by state media, was retrieved from the bus's video recorder.

In the video, a female passenger approaches the driver, hitting him directly in the face with her phone. The driver, with one hand on the wheel, hits back.

"Police said the passenger, identified as a 48-year-old woman with the surname Liu, was angry that the bus had missed her stop," the BBC reports.

The video shows that they exchange more blows before the driver loses control of the bus, strikes a car and careens through the four-lane bridge's railing into the Yangtze.

The bus sank in over 220 feet of water and more than 70 rescue boats were deployed to the scene, according to earlier reports. China's state newspaper, People's Daily, reports 15 people died in the crash.

The bus was pulled out of the Yangtze early Thursday morning as Chongqing residents looked on.

Initial reports suggested the bus swerved to avoid incoming traffic. China's state newspaper, People's Daily, reports police have now say the fight was the cause of the crash. </s> A bus has plunged off a large bridge spanning China’s Yangtze River, with state media saying two people were killed.

A bus has plunged off a large bridge spanning China’s Yangtze River, with state media saying two people were killed.

Two dead after bus plunges off bridge into China’s Yangtze River

Police say the bus suddenly veered into the wrong lane and collided with an oncoming car on Sunday before breaking through a guard rail and falling into the wide river in Chongqing in south-western China.

Divers and other rescue workers were searching for the passengers and driver.

Police said that more than 10 people were on the bus.

State broadcaster CCTV said that two people had been confirmed dead.

The cause of the accident is under investigation. </s> Two people have died after a bus plunged off a large bridge spanning China's Yangtze River.

Rescuers recovered two bodies after the public bus plunged nearly 200 ft into the river in Chongqing on Sunday morning.

The bus collided with an oncoming car on the four-lane bridge in the city's Wanxian area at around 10 am local time.

The vehicle then veered, broke through the bridge fence and plunged into the Yangtze river.

The bus sank some 260 ft under the water, state radio reported late on Sunday, citing rescuers.

More than 10 people, including the driver, were riding the bus, state radio said.

The cause of the accident is under investigation. </s> A bus has plunged off a large bridge spanning China's Yangtze River, with state media saying two people were killed.

Police say the bus suddenly veered into the wrong lane and collided with an oncoming car Sunday before breaking through a guard rail and falling into the wide river in Chongqing in southwestern China.

Divers and other rescue workers were searching for the passengers and driver. Police said that more than 10 people were on the bus.

State broadcaster CCTV said that two people had been confirmed dead.

The cause of the accident is under investigation. </s> BEIJING (AP) - Police say a brawl between a passenger and a bus driver was the cause of the bus plunging off a bridge in southwestern China.

An eight-second surveillance video posted by Chongqing police on its social media account Friday shows the two got into a fight before the bus veered into the wrong lane and fell off the bridge.

A police statement said a female passenger started quarreling with the driver after she missed her stop.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Friday 13 bodies have been retrieved from the river and two others remain missing. No one is believed to have survived.

The bus collided with an oncoming car before smashing through the guardrail and into the Yangtze River on Sunday. Rescuers recovered the wreck of the bus Wednesday night.

In this image taken from Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018 surveillance video footage run by China's CCTV via AP Video, a passenger strikes a bus driver with an object moments before the bus plunged off a bridge into the Yangtze River in Wanzhou in southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality. Police say a brawl between a passenger and a bus driver was the cause of the bus plunging off a bridge and killing more than a dozen people in southwestern China on Sunday. (CCTV via AP Video)

In this image taken from Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018 surveillance video footage run by China's CCTV via AP Video, a bus driver strikes a passenger moments before the bus plunged off a bridge into the Yangtze River in Wanzhou in southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality. Police say a brawl between a passenger and a bus driver was the cause of the bus plunging off a bridge and killing more than a dozen people in southwestern China on Sunday. (CCTV via AP Video)

FILE - In this Oct. 31, 2018, file photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a bus is lifted out of the Yangtze River by a floating crane in Wanzhou in southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality. Police said on Friday, Nov. 2, 2018, a brawl between a passenger and a bus driver was the cause of the bus plunging off a bridge and killing more than a dozen people in southwestern China on Sunday. (Wang Quanchao/Xinhua via AP, File)
A bus veers off the Second Wanzhou Yangtze River Bridge and plunges into the Yangtze River in Chongqing, China after its driver was distracted by an unruly passenger, killing at least 13 people.