At least 24 dead in Italian bus crash

At least 24 bodies have been pulled out of the mangled wreckage of a tour bus that plunged off a major highway in southern Italy after slamming into several cars and landed in a ravine, rescuers said.

The Italian news agency Ansa quoted firefighters among the rescuers as also saying at least 11 people were injured in the crash last night on the 116 autostrada near Avellino, some 250km south of Rome.

Italian TV quoted people at the scene as saying about 49 people were on the bus, which was reportedly filled with Italian pilgrims returning from an excursion elsewhere in the south.

Highway police said the bus crashed into cars that had been slowed by heavy traffic.
– AP