Driver is killed and passengers are seriously injured after minibus crashes.
A minibus on the Italian island of Capri crashed through a guardrail and landed on a beach resort area today, fatally injuring the driver and injuring passengers.
The fire department tweeted that the bus had 11 people on board when it ran off the road near the popular Marina Grande area of the island, with 28 people in total reportedly injured in the incident.
Capri Mayor Marino Lembo told Italian state TV that the bus driver died shortly after the crash, with local media saying the cause was a heart attack. It is unclear if he suffered from the heart attack before or after the crash.
Pictured: A view of the scene of an accident, where a minibus carrying a dozen people veered off a road and crashed and fell around 20 feet, on Capri island, southern Italy, 22 July 2021
Pictured: The minibus after it crashed in Capri, Italy on July 22, 2021. The driver of the bus suffered fatal injuries from the crash, while a number of other people were injured
Four passengers were seriously injured, including a child who was flown by helicopter from the island to a hospital in Naples, Italian media reported.
Several other passengers sustained lesser injuries, Italian media said, with daily newspaper La Repubblica reporting that 28 people were injured in the crash, suggesting people other than the passengers were hurt.
The state TV report said the bus plunged some 17 – 20 feet off the road after the driver lost control of the vehicle.
The bus appeared to have smashed through iron railings and against some structures when it landed away from where people were sunbathing, but it was unclear if they were changing cabins.
Pictures from the scene showed the wreckage of the vehicle on its side at the bottom of a cliff, behind some blue and white corrugated iron coverings that are part of the beach resort the bus landed on.
Italian media said some beachgoers instinctively dove into the sea for cover when they heard the loud crash.
Capri’s mayor said the cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known, La Repubblica daily reported.
Pictured: An aerial view of the bus lying on its side at the bottom of a cliff after crashing through a guardrail, on the island of Capri, Italy, Thursday, July 22, 2021
Pictured left and right: People peer down the cliff that the mini bus fell down after crashing off the road in Capri. The beach resort the bus landed on can be seen below
Pictured left:: The bus seen lying on its side after crashing down a cliff and onto a beach resort at the bottom on Thursday, with one person confirmed dead. Right:Â Emergency service vehicle gather at the site of the minibus crash
Passengers that were on board the minibus were rescued by the fire brigade, as well as Carabinieri – national police – and other police officers at the scene.
Helicopters transported doctors to the Island from Naples and to bring the most seriously injured back to the city’s hospital.
According to La Repubblica who spoke to officials, the bus was travelling at a steady speed up-hill when it swerved left and right before flying off the road.
Pictured:Â Rescue workers gather at the scene of an accident, where a minibus carryng a dozen people veered off a road and crashed, on Capri island, Naples, southern Italy, 22 July 2021
‘The driver may have had an illness: at the moment it is only a hypothesis, but I exclude it was a risky manoeuvre because the vehicle was uphill,’ deputy mayor of Anacapri Francesco Cerrotta told the newspaper.
‘Someone would have seen the doctors help the driver with a defibrillator’.
Helicopters reportedly took 19 people to Naples hospital, and all doctors on the island were sent to the hospital to treat the patients.
The exact cause of the accident are yet to be determined, with an investigation expected to be opened.
