O ut of the 39 affected, 21 died and 18 critically injured from an ancient vanice
(AP) ROME — Firefighters and other emergency personnel worked through the night to try and remove remains and douse the flames in a catastrophic bus disaster in Mestre, Italy, close over the Venetian Lagoon from ancient Venice, which resulted in at least 21 deaths and 18 injuries.
According to a Venice official, the bus was carrying international visitors, including Ukrainians, when it plummeted from an elevated street on its way to a camping spot close to the village of Marghera on Tuesday.
"The people in the bus found themselves surrounded by flames," said Mauro Luongo, the squad leader of the Venice firemen. "We came across a horrific scene. Some of the bodies had to be extracted, which took nearly an hour.
Enice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro described the collision scene as "apocalyptic" and declared the city to be in a state of mourning on X, the social media website that replaced Twitter.
According to Renato Boraso, a representative of the Venice city government, four of the injured were in critical condition following the accident, which occurred on the mainland just 9 kilometres (3.7 miles) northwest of the ancient city of Venice. According to Venice prefect Michele Di Bari, two of the victims were youngsters.
Five different hospitals in the area received the injured patients.
The bus, which got on fire, reportedly dropped a few metres before colliding with Mestre's railway tracks.
The cause of the accident is yet unknown, according to Veneto region governor Luca Zaia, who spoke to RAI state television.
It's challenging to comprehend how this tragedy came to be, but it's a significant one," he remarked. "That street wasn't too troublesome, and the bus was new and electric."
In 2017, an accident in the northern city of Verona claimed the lives of 16 passengers aboard a bus carrying Hungarian students. And in 2013, a bus crash near the southern city of Avellino resulted in one of Italy's worst traffic catastrophes, killing 40 people.
.png)
