‘Apocalyptic’: At least 21 dead in Venice tourist bus crash

A fiery bus accident in Venice resulted killed at least 21 people, including children and foreigners, with others suffering varying degrees of injuries.

At least 21 people are dead, and several others are wounded after a bus running on methane plunged off a bridge in Venice and caught fire on Tuesday local time.

Children and foreign tourists are among the dead.

A bus accident in Venice resulted in at least 20 fatalities, including two children, with several others suffering varying degrees of injuries. Picture: Marco Sabadin / AFP

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro described the crash scene as ‘apocalyptic.’ Picture: Marco Sabadin / AFP

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro described the crash site as “an apocalyptic scene”.

“A tragedy has struck our community this evening”, he said in a statement.

“The provisional toll is at least 21 fatalities and over 20 people hospitalised,” Luca Zaia, the governor of the Venice region, confirmed.

He labelled the crash a “tragedy of enormous proportions”.

“Efforts are on to extract and identify the bodies,” he said.

“The victims and the wounded include people of several nationalities, not just Italians”.

A city hall official said Ukrainian tourists had been killed in the ceash while Italian news agency ANSA said the fatalities also included German and French citizens.

The bus was returning from Venice’s historic centre to a camping site when the accident occurred around 7:30pm local time.

The bus caught fire after veering off a bridge connecting the Mestre and Marghera districts and hitting power lines. Picture: Marco Sabadin / AFP

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered her condolences and was in contact with local officials. Picture: Marco Sabadin / AFP

Firefighters said the bus caught fire after careering off a bridge straddling a railway line and linking the Mestre and Marghera districts of the northern Italian city.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her “profound condolences”.

“I am in contact with Mayor Luigi Brugnaro and (Transport) Minister Matteo Salvini in order to follow the news of this tragedy,” she said in a statement.

According to Il Corriere della Sera newspaper, the bus swerved off the bridge after smashing through the barrier and fell near railway tracks about 30 metres (100 feet) below.

The newspaper said it caught fire after hitting some power lines.

There is concern that the death toll may increase as rescue and recovery efforts continue, with reference to a previous bus accident in 2018 near Naples that claimed 40 lives. Picture: Marco Sabadin / AFP

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said, “The aggravating factor was methane and the fire this spread rapidly”.

“I fear that the death toll will rise,” he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen hace expressed their condolences while German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she was “deeply saddened by the terrible bus tragedy.”

“In this night of grief, my thoughts are with the victims, their families and friends,” she said.

A spokesperson for the German foreign affairs department told AFP its embassy in Rome was working with local authorities to verify whether German nationals were among the victims.

In July 2018, a bus carrying a group of some 50 holidaymakers back to Naples fell off a viaduct near the city, killing 40 people in all.

More to come …