23 dead as bus swept off bridge

Twenty-three people have been killed and 17 others are missing after a bus was swept off a bridge by a swollen river in the central Philippines, police say.

Police say the bus, carrying 40 passengers, had attempted to cross a bridge near the town of Igbaras in the province of Iloilo during torrential rain brought on by the approach of a new tropical storm.

But the swollen river engulfed the bridge and swept the bus away.

"Twenty-three people have now been confirmed dead," said police officer Maria Elena Delgado, adding that the search was continuing for the missing.

The state weather bureau says a fresh tropical storm from the Pacific Ocean is bearing down on the Philippines, just days after Typhoon Xangsane left 76 dead and 69 others missing.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometres per hour, the storm was located 690 kilometres east of the Bicol region, the south-east section of the main island of Luzon.

Forecasters expect it to bring strong winds and heavy rain to most parts of the country within the next few days.

- AFP