Italy was in shock Monday after
Spanish authorities confirmed that seven Italians were among 13
Erasmus exchange students killed in Sunday's bus crash in the
Catalonia region of Spain.
The Italian victims were named as Francesca Bonello,
Lucrezia Borghi, Valentina Gallo, Elena Maestrini, Elisa
Scarascia Mugnozza, Serena Saracino, and Elisa Valent.
Another 34 people were injured in the crash, six of them
Italians. Two were treated and released, and four others - three
young women and a young man - are still being treated for
non-life threatening injuries at hospitals in Barcelona, Reus,
Tarragona and Tortosa.
The bus was taking the Erasmus students back to their base
in Barcelona after attending Valencia's famous Las Falles
festival, in which each city district burns a wood and paper
mache monument it has worked year round to build.
"I'm sorry, I fell asleep," the 63-year-old driver
reportedly told emergency rescue workers at the crash site. The
man is reportedly being investigated for 13 negligent homicides
and is hospitalized in intensive care with a pulmonary
contusion.
Premier Matteo Renzi flew to Barcelona on Monday to
personally convey the nation's condolences to the grieving
parents, some of whom had driven all night to reach the
Catalonian capital so they could identify their daughters'
bodies because they couldn't get a flight.
President Sergio Mattarella sent condolences to the
families of the victims of "the extremely serious and absurd
incident...which caused the death of so many young university
students, a lot of them Italian. This is a very sad day for
Italy and for Europe".
Pope Francis sent a telegram to Tortosa Bishop Enrique
Benavent Vidal, saying he was "deeply pained" at the
"irreparable loss" of young lives, and voiced hope that the
injured would recover quickly.
An important meeting of Premier Matteo Renzi's centre-left
Democratic Party (PD) that was set to take place later on Monday
was cancelled in the wake of the crash. Catalonia is holding two
days of mourning on Monday and Tuesday.
Under 2006 European Union regulations, professional drivers
must not get behind the wheel more than nine consecutive hours
and must rest for at least 11 consecutive hours within a 24-hour
period. Transportation companies cannot offer bonuses or raises
based on distances driven, and are as liable for any violations
or crashes as the drivers are.
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