Italian authorities were investigating yesterday the cause of the horrific crash of a bus carrying foreign tourists on the outskirts of Venice which killed 21 people including several children and injured 15 others.
The electric bus crashed through the guardrail and off an overpass late on Tuesday in the Mestre district, slamming into the ground more than 10 metres (33ft) below and catching fire.
The nationality of all those killed has now been verified, Venice’s prefect Michele Di Bari, the local representative of the interior ministry, said late yesterday.
They include nine Ukrainian citizens, four Romanians, three Germans, two Portuguese, one Croatian, one South African and the Italian bus driver, he told Italy’s public broadcaster Rai News. The bus had been ferrying the tourists back to a campsite in nearby Marghera after a day out in Venice.The accident happened shortly before 8:00pm (1800 GMT) on a straight and normally very busy road that connects Mestre to the historic centre of Venice and runs alongside a railway. “We presume the driver may have fallen ill,” Veneto regional president Luca Zaia told Rtl 102.5 radio. Witnesses’ accounts and CCTV footage might give additional clues, he said.
However, “footage (of the accident) that appeared also in the national media suggests that a 360-degree investigation is needed,” said Di Bari, adding that authorities were working to retrieve the vehicle’s black box.
Those hurt in the crash included four Ukrainians, two Spaniards, two Austrians, a German, a Croatian and a French person, Di Bari said earlier yesterday.