At least five foreign nationals among 21 killed in ‘apocalyptic’ Venice bus crash – latest

Vehicle was travelling from Venice to Marghera when shocking accident took place

A bus crash near Italian city of Venice kills at least 21 people, including Ukrainian tourists

At least 21 people have been killed after a passenger bus plunged from an overpass near Venice in an “apocalyptic” accident, according to Italian authorities.

The vehicle was travelling from Venice to Marghera when the shocking accident took place at the overpass in Mestre on Tuesday evening.

“It completely went off the road, it flew off the bridge. It was a bus; it was a highway. We are in mourning,” Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro told Italy’s national broadcaster RAI.

At least four Ukrainians and one German tourist were among the dead, local authorities said.

Morris Ceron, general director of the municipality of Venice, told RAI that children were among the victims of the crash and that the bus was believed to have foreigners aboard as it headed towards a campsite.

Luca Zaia, president of Italy’s Veneto region, called the bus crash “a tragedy of enormous proportions” and also confirmed that “the victims and injured are of various nationalities, not just Italians.”

He said that more than 20 ambulances had been used at the scene and also the Treviso air ambulance. The injured were taken to hospitals in Mestre, Mirano, Padua and Treviso.

Key Points

• At least 21 dead after passenger bus plunges off bridge near Venice
• At least five foreign nationals killed in bus crash
• PM Giorgia Meloni says she is following developments and offers condolences

[4 October 2023 04:05 · Alisha Rahaman Sarkar]

‘Took one hour to extract bodies’, says firefighter

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.

[4 October 2023 03:08 · Mike Bedigan]

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.

[4 October 2023 02:03 · Mike Bedigan]

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.

[3 October 2023 22:45 · Graeme Massie]

At least 21 dead after passenger bus plunges off bridge near Venice

Shocking accident took place at the bridge in Mestre on Tuesday, say officials.

[3 October 2023 22:43 · Graeme Massie]

Venice bus crash

Welcome to a live blog covering a bus crash near Venice, Italy, that has left more than 20 people dead.