At least 21 people were killed and 18 injured when a bus carrying mainly international tourists fell off an overpass in a fiery, “apocalyptic” crash near Venice, Italy, Tuesday night.
The bus — which was en route to a campsite near the Marghera area — plowed through a barrier on the elevated street and plunged several feet onto an area near railroad tracks in Mestre, where it caught fire, according to officials.
“The people in the bus found themselves surrounded by flames,” said Mauro Luongo, commander of the Venice firefighters team. “The scene we found was terrible. It took about one hour to extract some of the bodies.”
Venice’s mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, called the horrific crash “an apocalyptic scene” and declared the city to be in mourning in a social media post.
“A huge tragedy struck our community this evening … There are no words,” he said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter.
At least 21 were killed and 18 injured in the crash that occurred around 7:45 p.m. in Mestre. REUTERS
Two children as well as Ukrainian tourists were among the dead, according to local officials. APTwo children, five Ukrainians, one German and the Italian bus driver were among the dead, Venice prefect Michele Di Bari said.
The death toll could rise as at least four of the injured were in serious condition, according to local authorities.
The injured were rushed to five different hospitals in the region following the 7:45 p.m. crash.
“The people in the bus found themselves surrounded by flames, ” said Mauro Luongo, commander of the Venice firefighters team. AFP via Getty Images
The death toll could rise if some of the injured victims do not survive, authorities said. REUTERSIt’s unclear what caused the bus to crash.
“This is an important tragedy, but it’s difficult to understand how it happened,” Veneto region governor Luca Zaia told RAI state television. “The bus was new and electric, and that street wasn’t particularly problematic.”
Emergency responders were working through the night to put out the flames and recover more bodies.
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro called the horrific crash “an apocalyptic scene.” STRINGER/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockItalian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered her “deepest condolences” to the victims and their loved ones and said she was in close contact with Brugnaro.
A similar tragedy claimed the lives of 16 people in 2016 when a bus carrying Hungarian students crashed near the northern city of Verona.
Three years earlier, 40 people died when a bus plunged off a viaduct near the southern city of Avellino in one of the country’s worst vehicle fatalities.
With Post wires
