A BUS has crashed on a railway bridge in York, leaving one man dead and a major rail route closed.
The accident happened in the Bootham area as the single-decker bus was taking nightclub customers home shortly before 2am.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "One male passenger from the bus was injured fatally and was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Four other people travelling on the bus were injured and taken to York District Hospital.
"Their injuries are not thought to be serious."
He said the vehicle hit a lamp-post, the wall of a pub and the stone parapet of the bridge over the main York to Scarborough railway line.
The bus remained on the bridge this morning as engineers assessed the damage.
The railway line was initially closed, but opened later after a safety inspection.
Police said surrounding streets were likely to be shut for some time, resulting in major disruption.
Diversions were set up, but pedestrians were allowed across the bridge.
No other vehicles were involved.
More than a dozen commuters quietly stood by, 100 yards from the scene of the accident, as four firefighters and two police forensic officers removed the victim's body from the bus at 8.34am.
The front left-hand side of the bus sustained the most damage and its passenger door was destroyed.
It was not clear how the bus came to be in that position.
An investigation into the collision is under way.
