A video surveillance camera captured the moment a bus fell from a bridge in the Italian city of Mestre near Venice. 21 people, including three children, died, another 18 were injured.

In images taken by a surveillance camera, published by the Italian press and played in slow motion, you can see a bus that appears to have stopped at a traffic light and continues moving, as well as an electric bus that soon after veers to the right, collapses on the railway tracks, and another suddenly drives in the opposite direction. No other car is visible in front of them.

The camera is directed towards the base of the ramp leading from Mestre to Venice, showing the top of the overpass, the descent to the shoulder of the A4 motorway.

According to LaPresse, the condition of the roadway and the parapet on the pedestrian bridge in Mestre, where the bus crashed, is being investigated because, according to sources cited by the Italian press, the parapet on this section of the road was old and in some places, subject to replacement.

The scenario that the driver had health problems is also taken into account. All hypotheses are being checked by the Prosecutor’s Office of Venice, which has started an investigation, so far without any suspects.

The driver was experienced, his boss claims

The driver, Alberto Rizzoto, was an Italian, he was 40 years old, he died, according to Corriere del Veneto.

Alberto Rizzoto was a good driver and worked for 7 years at La Linea, which operated an electric bus that was “new”, as the company claims.

“The driver was an experienced person, very good. He regularly made the necessary visits. As far as I could see, he worked with us since 2014, then took a break and then came back to us again for 7 years,” said Massimo Fiorese, CEO of La Linea.

Rizzotto took over an hour and a half before the terrible accident.

The head of the company that operated the bus said that he had seen a video recording of the moments before the accident.

He said it shows the vehicle slowing down and appearing “almost stationary” when it hits the guardrail and falls.

“I think the driver got sick because I can’t explain it any other way,” Fiorese said.

Images from the crash site showed that the overpass was equipped with old and relatively thin metal guardrails instead of newer, stronger concrete versions.

“After initial investigations, there are no signs of braking,” said Venice Municipal Police Chief Marco Agostini, who clarified that the driver’s medical problem was being investigated.

The bus, which rented the campsite where the tourists stayed, went off the road on the Vempa overpass, broke the protective parapets, fell 10 meters into the void and reached the railway, where it caught fire.

“There are so many dead, too many”

The people in the bus almost had no chance after the car caught fire from the impact, ANSA notes.

“So many dead, too many,” were the first words of a firefighter who arrived at the scene of the accident.

Fire chief Mauro Luongo explained that “extricating people was difficult.”

“One of the challenges was that the bus was electric,” he noted, “so it had batteries. Unfortunately, they caught fire during the collision. Batteries are critical when hot. That’s why extraction operations took a bit longer. vehicle’ from the railway, the operation was completed on Wednesday morning.

The mayor of the city, Luigi Brugnaro, declared mourning after the tragedy on Tuesday evening.

The worst such accident in Italy to date occurred on July 28, 2013. The bus, which was carrying about fifty passengers, all from the province of Naples and returning from a three-day trip, fell from a viaduct more than thirty meters high near Avellino, about 50 kilometers east of Naples, AFP reported. 38 people died on the spot, two died from their injuries.