Verona, Italy // Sixteen people died when a coach bringing Hungarian teenagers home from a skiing trip crashed and burst into flames on a northern Italian motorway.
The death toll from the tragedy near Verona at around 11pm on Friday could have been much worse had it not been for the bravery and quick thinking of a teacher, a Hungarian official said.
The bus carrying 56 people, most of them teenagers aged 14-16 as well as several teachers and two drivers, ploughed into a bridge pillar while returning from France. It was quickly engulfed by a huge fire, pictures released by police showed, completely destroying the interior and reducing the vehicle to a burnt wreck.
Some passengers were killed when they were hurled from the coach on impact, but most of the victims were found badly charred inside the vehicle.
The Hungarian government said that three people were in a very serious condition, including one in an artificial coma. Ten more were seriously hurt and 13 had minor injuries.
All were being treated in nearby hospitals. Twelve others who were not hurt were receiving counselling at a hotel in the area.
Girolamo Lacquaniti, the Verona traffic police chief, said no other vehicle was involved, pointing to mechanical failure or human error such as the driver falling asleep.
“The coach was travelling at quite a constant speed and we haven’t found any traces of braking,” Mr Lacquaniti said. The vehicle burst into flames moments after the impact, he said.
One of the drivers was among those killed, Italian media reported.
Mr Lacquaniti said 13 passengers managed to escape by jumping out.
“Those who were seated at the back of the bus saved themselves by smashing the windows amid shouting and panic,” said Hungary’s consul in Italy, Judit Timaffy.
“A gym teacher rescued lots of those on board by getting back on the bus. He was taken to hospital with serious burns on his back,” Timaffy said.
She said that the drivers had changed over around an hour before the accident.
Traffic police were still gathering evidence and consulting video evidence meaning it was “still too early to determine the cause of this tragedy,” Mr Lacquaniti said.
Once the blaze was put out emergency workers had to wait for a judge to give approval to comb through the smoking remains, which they then spent the rest of the night doing to establish the complete death toll.
At the Szinyei secondary school in Budapest, which is well known and has an excellent academic reputation, people placed flowers and candles outside on Saturday.
Several parents of the children arrived at the Verona traffic police headquarters on Saturday morning as well as 10 or so young people.
* Agence France-Presse