2017 Verona bus crash
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| 2017 Verona bus crash | |
|---|---|
| File:Veronai autóbusz-baleset.jpg Remains of the bus | |
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| Details | |
| Date | 20–21 January 2017 |
| Location | A4 motorway at 298th km, at San Martino Buon Albergo |
| Country |  Italy |
| Operator | Pizolit Busz Személyszállító Kft. |
| Owner | Pizolit Busz Személyszállító Kft. |
| Incident type | collision, fire |
| Statistics | |
| Deaths | 16 (All Hungarian) |
| Injured | 26 (10 serious , 2 critical) |
The 2017 Verona bus crash was a traffic collision that happened around midnight on the night of 20–21 January 2017 on the A4 motorway at San Martino Buon Albergo, near Verona, Italy. A coach that was transporting Hungarian high school students and their teachers back from a skiing trip in France collided with the highway traffic barrier, crashed into a bridge pylon, and then caught fire.[1]
The fire charred the bus. Sixteen people onboard the bus were killed and at least 26 sustained injuries, 10 serious and two life-threatening.[2] Some of the bodies of victims were burned beyond recognition, and the investigation team had to take DNA samples of the parents of the deceased victims to identify the bodies. One of the seriously injured victims suffered third-degree burns. The accident became the second most severe foreign bus crash involving Hungarians after the 1999 Deutschlandsberg bus crash in which 18 people were killed.
Events
The bus was carrying teenage students from the Szinyei Gimnazium in Budapest and adults accompanying them including one teacher's family, returning from skiing in France.[3][4]
The Setra S317 GT-HD coach was travelling on the A4 motorway at San Martino Buon Albergo near Verona, when, for unknown reasons, the vehicle collided with the traffic barrier and then crashed into a bridge pylon.[3] The collision crushed the right side of the coach up until the middle door and it caused a fuel fire almost immediately. With the front door obliterated and the middle door blocked by the pylon, the surviving occupants had to break out windows on the left side to be able to escape. Most people onboard were sleeping at the time of the accident. Looking at photographs of the technical rescue of the wreck, Totalcar speculated that most of the victims died instantly in the moment of the crash.[1] A physical education teacher returned to the bus several times to rescue students.[3] He lost both of his children in the accident, and suffered burn injuries on his back during rescue.[5] There were reports that a following truck driver had noticed "something wrong" with one of the coach's wheels, and black smoke coming from the rear.[1][3][4] Italian authorities found no braking marks on the scene of the crash.[1]
Reactions
Both the Hungarian Police and the Hungarian Ambulance Service (OMSZ) sent a team to Italy to assist the accident investigation and to help the survivors. To help the survivors and victims families in coping with the psychological shock after the crash, several Hungarian psychologists reached to Verona.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni expressed condolences for the victims of the accident. The Hungarian government declared 23 January as a national day of mourning with the national flag to be flown at half-staff in Budapest as a mark of homage, with schools to hold condolences for the victims.
Hundreds of students, parents and relatives gathered outside Szinyei Merse Pal high school mourning the accident and paid homage by lighting candles.[6]
{{ci== Investigation == Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó confirmed that an investigation into the cause of the accident began soon afterwards.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Ruth McKee (21 January 2017). "Italy Bus Crash". The Guardian.
- ^ "Hungarian official: Bus crash victim IDs could take days". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
- ^ a b c d Sandor Peto; Matteo Berlenga (21 January 2017). "Sixteen dead, many Hungarian teenagers, in Italy bus accident: police". Reuters.
- ^ a b Paolo Virtuani; Annalisa Grandi (21 January 2017). "Verona: pullman si schianta e si incendia, morti 16 ragazzi ungheresi: Ipotesi colpo di sonno dell'autista". Corriere della Sera (in Italian).
- ^ "Italy school bus crash teacher's children die". BBC News. 22 January 2017.
- ^ "Sixteen killed in schoolbus crash in Italy". Mail Online. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
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