(ReliableNews.org) – On October 3, dozens of people boarded a bus to travel from Venice, Italy, to the nearby city of Marghera. Many of the people were headed home from work. Sadly, more than 20 of the passengers are now dead.
The bus traveled across an overpass in Mestre, a borough of Venice, where it went off the road and plunged off the bridge. The massive electric vehicle slammed onto the street below and burst into flames. At least 21 people died in the accident, including two children. Another 18 suffered injuries. The driver, 40-year-old Alberto Rizzotto, was among the dead. In addition to the people who were returning home from work, there were also foreign nationals on the bus.
The Associated Press reported Mauro Luongo, the commander of the firefighters team, said the people on the bus were “surrounded by flames.” He went on to say that it took rescue workers an hour to “extract some of the bodies.”
Italian authorities are considering the possibility that the bus’ battery may have contributed to the fire spreading more rapidly. Electric vehicle batteries have been known to burn hotter than regular vehicle fires.
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro described the scene of the accident as “apocalyptic.” In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said the accident was a “huge tragedy” and that the city was in mourning for the victims.
Bruno Cherchi, the head prosecutor for the Venice municipality, is leading the probe into the bus crash. Investigators will look into whether the driver had any medical issues or if other vehicles were involved in the accident.
Massimo Fiorese, the head of the bus company, told reporters that he’d watched video footage of the accident. He said that it looked as though the bus slowed down and looked as though ti were “almost stationary” before it went through the guardrail on the overpass.
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