At least 21 people have died after a coach fell 30 metres from an overpass and caught fire near Venice in northern Italy.

Another 18 people were injured in the crash on Tuesday evening, with Italian police confirming there were tourists of “various nationalities” on board.

There were at least two children among the passengers – and Ukrainian and German passports have been found at the scene, authorities said.

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The mayor of Venice posted a photo showing the wreckage of the bus. Pic: Luigi Brugnaro

“Several of the victims were foreigners, we found Ukrainian passports,” said Venice’s mayor Luigi Brugnaro.

Ukraine’s embassy in Rome confirmed to Sky News it had citizens who were passengers on the bus.

Mr Brugnaro described the incident as a “terrible tragedy”, adding: “I immediately ordered the city to go into mourning, in memory of the many victims who were in the crashed bus.

“An apocalyptic scene, there are no words.”

Police officers are on the scene. Pic: @poliziadistato via X
Image:
Police officers are on the scene. Pic: @poliziadistato via X

The coach fell close to railway lines after veering off a road in the district of Mestre, which is connected to Venice by a bridge.

Police said the bus was rented for guests by a campsite, called Camping Village Jolly, in Marghera.

According to Sky Italia, 18 bodies have so far been dragged from the wreckage after the coach fell 30 metres (98ft) on to electricity lines and caught fire.

The bus veered off a road. Pic: @poliziadistato via X
Image:
The bus veered off a road. Pic: @poliziadistato via X

The cause of the accident was still unclear.

With rescue operations ongoing, the number of deaths could climb higher.

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Emergency services on the scene. Pic: Slow Press/LiveMedia/LaPresse via AP
Image:
Pic: Slow Press/LiveMedia/LaPresse via AP

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said: “I express my deepest condolences, my personal and that of the entire government, for the serious accident that occurred in Mestre.

“My thoughts are with the victims and their families and friends.

“I am in close contact with the Mayor Luigi Brugnaro and with the Minister (of the Interior) Matteo Piantedosi to follow the news on this tragedy.”

Italy has suffered a number of deadly bus crashes in recent years.

In 2013, 40 people died when a bus plunged off a viaduct in southern Italy in one of the country’s worst road accidents.

Four years later, 16 people on a bus carrying Hungarian students died in an accident near the northern city of Verona.