Italy was in shock on Wednesday after
21 people died when a bus plunged from an overpass above a
railway line between the Venice districts of Mestre and Marghera
on Tuesday.
Rescuers said it was mostly a "tragedy of young or very young
people".
Paolo Rosi, the coordinator of Suem 118 Veneto emergency service
unit, told ANSA that a baby, a 12-year-old child and an older
minor were among the victims.
He said four of the injured people were in intensive care.
Venice Prefect Michele Di Bari said Wednesday that the local
council and the Veneto regional government were requesting the
declaration of three days of mourning.
"It is a time of mourning for everyone, a time to remain silent.
Both the President of the Region (Luca Zaia) and the Mayor
(Luigi Brugnaro) have asked the premier's office to declare
three days of mourning, with flags at half-mast throughout the
region," Di Bari told reporters.
He said seven victims have been identified so far - five
Ukrainian citizens, one German and the bus's Italian driver.
He said four of the injured are Ukrainian, one German, one
French, one Croatian, two Spanish and two Austrian.
Four of the injured people are yet to be identified.
Three of them are minors, a Ukrainian hospitalized in Padua and
two Germans in Treviso.
Veneto Governor Luca Zaia said he was particularly worried about
a three-year-old girl who suffered serious burns in the crash.
Premier Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday expressed her "most profound
condolences" and said she was thinking of the victims and their
families and friends.
The bus was travelling from the centre of Venice to a camping
site.
Venice prosecutors have opened an investigation to establish
what happened.
The driver's colleagues said he was an experienced professional.
One hypothesis is that he may have had a bad turn while at the
wheel.
The wreckage of the bus was removed from the scene of the
accident overnight and taken to a depot.
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