At least 21 people died this Tuesday in Venice after a bus fell from a highway ramp and fell into the space near the train tracks. Twenty other people were injured, some seriously, and taken to nearby hospitals. The authorities assumed that the toll of victims was going to rise.
The incident happened shortly after 7:30 p.m., and it involved a bus that plunged off this bridge that leads from Venice to the Marghera port, in Mestre, the part of Venice that is on the mainland. Witnesses spoke of an “apocalyptic scene”, with the vehicle on fire after falling between a warehouse and the train tracks. Last night the causes of the accident were unknown, which could have been much worse because at that time no one was at the place where the bus ended. The driver also lost his life, and the first hypotheses point to human error, since there were no obstacles on the tracks and the vehicle was new.
According to the mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, the bus had been rented to take tourists from Venice to the Hu Marghera campsite. Among the victims there are several foreigners, of which only five Ukrainians, a German and an Italian (the driver) are confirmed. At least two of the deceased were children and another was a teenager. There were also minors among the injured. About twenty ambulances and firefighting teams quickly moved to the scene of the accident, which forced train circulation between Mestre and the Santa Lucía station in the center of the city of canals to be blocked.
“An apocalyptic scene, there are no words,” repeated Brugnaro, who declared citizen mourning in the face of the tragedy. “We are here in the middle of this great tragedy. We've already counted 20 dead, but I guess that's a number that's destined to rise. “We are helping people,” he told local television.
“I express my deep condolences, personal and that of the entire Government, for the serious incident that occurred in Mestre. The thoughts go to the victims and their family and friends. “I am in close contact with Mayor Luigi Brugnaro and with the Minister (of the Interior) Matteo Piantedosi to follow the news of this tragedy,” said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. She also expressed her solidarity with the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and the President of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia. The Venetian health system launched the major emergency protocol, which provides for the availability of all hospital emergency services and for backup personnel to go to their jobs.
