At least twenty people died and many others were injured Tuesday evening in Venice when a bus running on methane fell from a bridge and caught fire, the town hall of this northeastern city told AFP from Italy.
“A tragedy struck our community this evening”, causing “many victims among those present on board the bus which fell” from a bridge near Mestre, on dry land, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro lamented on Facebook, describing “an apocalyptic scene”.
Questioned by AFP, the mayor’s spokesperson reported a death toll of “at least 20 dead, including two children”.
“At least ten injured people, of varying severity, have already been evacuated from the scene of the accident and transported to hospitals” in the region, notably in Mestre, Padua and Treviso, the spokesperson said. “Operations are continuing to rescue and centralize other possible injured people,” he added.
The Venice Health Department immediately initiated the emergency plan for a maximum influx of injured people, recalling doctors on duty and emergency personnel.
The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, immediately expressed “her deep condolences”. “I am in contact with Mayor Luigi Brugnaro and Minister [des Transports] Matteo Salvini to follow the news of this tragedy,” she said in a statement.
According to Venice firefighters, the bus “caught fire” after falling from a bridge spanning a railway line between Mestre and Marghera, two towns that are part of the municipality of Venice and overlook its famous lagoon.
Brazier
According to the daily The Corriere della Serathe scheduled bus left its lane on the bridge, smashed through the safety rail and fell near the railway tracks below after flying around thirty meters.
The bus allegedly caught fire after coming into contact with electrical wires, according to Il Corriere.
According to Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, “the aggravating factor was the methane fuel, so the fire spread quickly.” “The toll is tragic and dramatic, but I fear it will rise,” he told the television news on public channel Rai 1.
The most serious accident of this kind in Italy to date occurred on July 28, 2013. A bus carrying around fifty passengers, all from the province of Naples and returning from a three-day excursion, fell a viaduct of around thirty meters near Avellino, around fifty kilometers east of Naples. Thirty-eight people died instantly, two died from their injuries.