At least five foreign nationals among 21 killed in ‘apocalyptic’ Venice bus crash – latest
Vehicle was travelling from Venice to Marghera when shocking accident took place
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At least 21 people have been killed after a passenger bus plunged from an overpass near Venice in an “apocalyptic” accident, according to Italian authorities.
The vehicle was travelling from Venice to Marghera when the shocking accident took place at the overpass in Mestre on Tuesday evening.
“It completely went off the road, it flew off the bridge. It was a bus; it was a highway. We are in mourning,” Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro told Italy’s national broadcaster RAI.
At least four Ukrainians and one German tourist were among the dead, local authorities said.
Morris Ceron, general director of the municipality of Venice, told RAI that children were among the victims of the crash and that the bus was believed to have foreigners aboard as it headed towards a campsite.
Luca Zaia, president of Italy’s Veneto region, called the bus crash “a tragedy of enormous proportions” and also confirmed that “the victims and injured are of various nationalities, not just Italians.”
He said that more than 20 ambulances had been used at the scene and also the Treviso air ambulance. The injured were taken to hospitals in Mestre, Mirano, Padua and Treviso.
World leaders offer condolences
"Our thoughts this evening are with the Italian people, the families and loved ones of the victims of the terrible tragedy in Venice," wrote French president Emmanuel Macron.
“I am deeply saddened by the terrible accident of a bus in Mestre this evening. I offer my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims at this sad time. I’m close to you,” said Charles Michel, president of the European Council.
Different nationalities among the victims of crash
According to Michele Di Bari, the local representative of the interior ministry, five of the crash victims were Ukrainians and one was German.
Italian news agency ANSA reported that the bus was also carrying passengers from France and Croatia.
The injured were taken to hospitals in Mestre, Mirano, Padua and Treviso. Italian news outlet RAI reported that translation services set up to assist the Ukrainian victims and their families.
EU Commission president offers condolences
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday said she was standing by the Italian prime minister and other leaders in the "moment of profound pain".
"My deepest condolences to the families of the victims and those injured in the serious accident in Mestre," she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Watch: A bus crash near Italian city of Venice kills at least 21 people
Italy’s recent history of deadly crashes
At least 21 people have died and another 18 sustained injuries in a bus crash in Mestre, Italy, just across the Venetian Lagoon from old Venice.
In 2017, at least 16 people on a bus carrying Hungarian students died in an accident near the northern city of Verona.
And in 2013, nearly 40 people died in one of Italy’s worst vehicle accidents when a bus plunged off a viaduct close to the southern city of Avellino.
Driver was ‘good’ at his job, says company’s chief executive
The “new” bus was not even a year old and the driver was “good” at his job, said Massimo Fiorese, the chief executive of the La Linea, whose fleet owned the electric bus that crashed near Venice.
The driver, identified as 40-year-old Alberto Rizzotto, had been working with the company for the past “five-six years”.
He was among the 21 victims, who died when the bus fell from an elevated street Tuesday en route to a camping site near the community of Marghera.
The driver began work in the afternoon shortly before the crash at around 6pm local time, the chief executive told Corriere della Sera newspaper.
“He picked up people from Piazzale Roma and was taking them back to the campsite, in Marghera. Sixteen people had booked the ride, but evidently, bad luck meant that someone who hadn’t booked also got on and when he saw the bus arriving,” Mr Fiorese added.
Driver among 21 killed in Venice bus crash
The bus driver was among at least 21 people who died on Tuesday after the vehicle crashed off an overpass near Venice in northern Italy and caught fire.
The bus veered off the road and fell close to railway lines in the district of Mestre, which is connected to Venice by a bridge.
Venice city councillor Renato Boraso said one line of enquiry was that the driver, a 40-year-old Italian, had been taken ill before the crash.
The cause of the accident was unclear.
Prime minister offers condolences
Prime minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on social media to express her condolences and said she was following the developments.
“Our thoughts go out to the victims and their family and friends,” she said.
“I am in close contact with Mayor Luigi Brugnaro and Minister Matteo Piantedosi to follow the news on this tragedy.”
Bus was carrying tourists from at least four nations
At least five Ukrainians and one German national were on board the bus that crashed off an overpass near Venice in northern Italy and caught fire on Tuesday.
The bus was also carrying passengers from France and Croatia, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
“The bus is totally crushed. The firefighters had difficulty getting a lot of the bodies out,” Venice’s prefect Michele Di Bari told Sky Italia television. He said two children were among the victims.
Images from scene of fatal Italian bus crah
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