Bus plunges off bridge in Venice leaving more than 20 people dead - latest

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.

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.

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 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.”

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.

At least 21 people, including two children, were killed and 18 suffered injuries as a bus crashed in Mestre, Italy across the Venetian Lagoon from old Venice.

The bus was carrying foreign tourists, including Ukrainians, when it fell from an elevated street on Tuesday, authorities said.

“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.”The death toll is likely to rise as four people were in serious condition following the accident.

Italian news outlet RAI said that specialists in paediatrics, cardiac surgery, neurology and general surgery had come to Mestre from Chioggia to assist doctors with the victims of the crash – all of whom have suffered from trauma and serious burns.

President of the Veneto Region , Luca Zaia, said that flags in all regional offices in Veneto would be displayed at half mast on Wednesday as a sign of public mourning, following the crash.

“I also invite all municipalities and local authorities to adopt this form of condolence for the victims and closeness to the wounded,” he said according to Italian news outlet RAI.