US bus dramatically plunges off bridge

A bus has dramatically plunged off an overpass in New York City, leaving the front half hanging from the highway ramp it was navigating, its fall broken only by the road below.

The driver was seriously injured in the crash just after 11pm on Thursday at an interchange of the Cross Bronx and Major Deegan expressways, and seven passengers suffered minor injuries, fire officials said.

They were taken to hospitals.

No other vehicles were involved.

One part of the bus - essentially two buses connected by a pivot that allows it to navigate turns - remained on the bridge, with the other half vertical, its smashed front end resting on the highway ramp below.

"The bus fell approximately 50 feet onto the access road. The patients suffered injuries consistent with a fall from such a great height," Deputy Fire Chief Paul Hopper said in a social media post.

Firefighters planned to secure the fuel and any other hazardous materials before pulling the bus fully onto the road, Acting Battalion Chief Steven Moore said in the post.