At least 21 people dead after Venice bus crash

A bus crashed near the Italian city of Venice after falling from an elevated street, killing at least 21 people and injuring several others, authorities said.

Venice prefect Michele Di Bari said that 21 people were killed, including two children, and that there were 15 survivors from the crash in the Mestre suburb of Venice.

He said it was a regular bus line, but that tourists were aboard, though there was no immediate word on the nationalities of the victims.

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Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the scene of the crash was "apocalyptic" and that he had already declared the "city's mourning" for the "numerous victims" who were on the bus.

According to local media, the bus fell a few metres before crashing close to Mestre's railway tracks, where it caught fire. Emergency crews were on the scene.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her "deepest sorrow" after the crash.

More to come ...