It was between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon when a city bus loaded with tourists who were staying at a campsite fell from a bridge with a height of between 15 and 30 meters, in the town of Mestre, which belongs to Venice, in northeastern Italy, and caught fire upon reaching the ground. At least 21 people died in the accident, including two children, and dozens were injured, according to the Prefecture. Around ten at night, the prefect of Venice, Michele di Bari, confirmed that all the bodies had already been recovered from inside the damaged vehicle.
The bus had left Venice and was heading to Marghera. When he was close to his destination, for reasons that are still unknown, he left the road, broke the guardrail of the Vespa footbridge, a section of road that passes over a railway track in Mestre, about 10 kilometers from the canal area. After falling from a height of 10 meters, the bus collided with some electrical cables and ended up catching fire.
Some witnesses to what happened have told the cameras of Italian public television, RAI, that they saw how the bus tumbled over the bridge, at low speed, and shortly after fell into the void and began to burn before reaching the ground, along with to the train tracks that connect Mestre with Venice. Firefighters, who arrived almost immediately at the scene of the accident, managed to put out the fire in a short time.
Prefect Di Bari then alluded to an “apocalyptic scene” and confirmed that the occupants of the bus were mostly foreign tourists staying at a campsite in the area.
Before the prefect confirmed that all the bodies had been recovered, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantendosi had warned that the “death toll” was likely to increase. “It is a very tragic and dramatic balance, but I fear it is destined to increase,” he said.
The mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, wrote in a message on X: “A terrible tragedy has struck our community tonight. I have immediately ordered municipal mourning in memory of the numerous victims who were traveling on the accident bus. An apocalyptic scene; there are no words”. On that social network, the mayor has also shared a photograph showing the vehicle on fire and confirmed that firefighters have found documentation of foreign citizens among the remains of the bus.
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Brugnaro clarified that it was a relatively new hybrid city bus that was carrying out a private service transporting the group of tourists staying at the campsite.
Several fire engines, numerous ambulances and police forces rushed to the scene to rescue those who had been trapped in the wreckage of the bus. They also initially cut off rail traffic between Mestre, Santa Lucia and Venice. The health unit of the Veneto region activated the “major emergencies” protocol, which involves making all hospital emergency rooms available and calling for backup personnel. Hospitals in neighboring Treviso and Padua were also alerted to receive the injured.
The Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has in turn sent a message of condolences for the victims. “I express my deepest condolences, mine and that of the entire Government, for the serious accident in Mestre. My thoughts are with the victims and their families and friends. “I am in close contact with Mayor Luigi Brugnaro and Minister Matteo Piantedosi to follow the news of this tragedy,” she noted in a note from the Italian primacy. The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, has also called the mayor of Venice by phone to express his condolences for the accident in Mestre.
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