An electric bus carrying around forty tourists fell off a bridge on the outskirts of Venice on Tuesday evening, killing 21 people, including two minors. The scene of this tragic accident was captured by a video surveillance camera. The images released show the seconds before the tragedy. We see the vehicle traveling at normal speed before being obscured by another bus. A few moments later the bus becomes visible again as it swings to the right before falling into space.
At this point in the investigation, the reasons why the vehicle left the road and then fell ten meters from the bridge are still unknown. Authorities believe the 40-year-old driver’s discomfort could be the cause of the accident. “Everything suggests that it could be discomfort. However, it is advisable not to make any assumptions and use the conditional. “It could be a technical error or other factors that we do not know at the moment,” explained Luca Zaia, governor of the Venice region, urging caution. “I hope that the images from the cameras on the street, those from the bus if they were saved, and the witness statements will help us understand what happened. We cannot remember any accident on this stretch of road,” he concluded.
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro declared three days of mourning throughout Veneto and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast at official buildings. Books of condolence were also made available to people who wanted to express their sadness “at the tremendous tragedy that has struck the city.”