Officials report that a bus crash-landed off a flyover near Venice and caught fire, killing at least 21 people, many of them youngsters.
The electric bus fell about 15 metres (50 feet) near railway tracks in Mestre, which is connected to Venice by a bridge, after it crashed through a barrier and fell.
According to Michele Di Bari, the city prefect, among the fatalities were the Italian driver, one German, and five Ukrainians.
According to Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, a “huge tragedy” has occurred.
He said on social media, “Apocalyptic scene, there are no words.”
Tuesday night’s CCTV footage of the flyover showed the automobile moving past another bus before it overturned.
Except for a few adults, one rescuer described the situation as “a tragedy of young people, if not very young people.”
According to emergency authorities, among the dead were three kids, including a newborn. The toll could increase, according to Matteo Piantedosi, the interior minister.
It is known that fifteen people—five of them seriously—have been hurt. Officials from Venice claimed that they also included tourists from Austria, Spain, Ukraine, and other countries.
The local governor reported that two 16-year-olds and two younger youngsters were among the injured.
Seven and thirteen-year-old German brothers were receiving medical care for damaged bones in a local hospital in Treviso. The accident claimed the lives of their parents, and the boys were receiving counselling.
According to Bruno Cherchi, the prosecutor in Venice, several of the victims were not carrying personal identification. By Wednesday afternoon, he noted, just three or four survivors had so far been able to communicate with the investigators.
On Tuesday at about 19:45 (17:45 GMT), the bus carrying 39 passengers crashed. It seems to have been chartered by a local business to transport tourists from the old part of Venice to a campground close in the Marghera neighbourhood.
According to the prosecutor, witnesses saw the bus scrape along the guardrail on the flyover for 50 metres before it crashed to the ground.
In contrast to earlier reports that claimed the 13-tonne vehicle also used methane gas, the bus operator highlighted that it was an electric vehicle. The bus’s batteries caught fire, making the work of emptying the bus challenging, according to fire brigade captain Mauro Longo, who was speaking to the website Il Gazzettino.
Witnesses reported hearing screams, but the flames were too high for them to do anything.
The first individuals on the scene were a 27-year-old Gambian employee and a coworker. He described how he had removed three or four passengers, including a little girl, from the bus.
A man by the name of Leonardo claimed to have heard severe braking before the sound of the impact and to have hurried to the scene to investigate what had happened. He said on the La Presse website, “I wanted to help, but I was stopped by a friend of mine and a policewoman because the bus was still engulfed in flames and about to blow up.”
Why the bus exited the flyover on a downward section of the road and careered through a metal barrier and a guard rail is still a mystery. Security camera footage from the area of the crash is being examined by police.
There was no evidence on the road that the bus company’s 40-year-old driver, Alberto Rizzotto, who had been driving for seven years, had attempted to brake prior to the collision.
He stated that he was operating a “shuttle to Venice” in his most recent Facebook post.
According to the governor of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, “everything points” to the bus driver becoming ill just before losing control of the vehicle. He did, however, add that it would be wise to wait before speculating on the accident’s reasons.
From the La Linea bus business, Massimo Fiorese, it was said that the bus was less than a year old and the driver had extensive experience.
He informed the Ansa news agency that a video of the bus moments before it crashed was available. “The car pulls up, slows down, and applies the brakes. It nearly comes to a complete stop before it crashes through the guardrail. I believe the driver became ill, as I am unable to account for it otherwise.
The bus collision was eventually removed from the scene early on Wednesday by firefighters.
In order to comfort the families of the victims, a reception area staffed by psychologists and psychiatrists has been set up at a neighbouring hospital.
Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, expressed the nation’s condolences to the victims’ loved ones and friends.
BBC
