Verona, Italy • The Hungarian students had just finished a week of skiing in France when their bus swerved right, then left, then hit a highway barrier and burst into flames. Sixteen people were killed and more than two dozen injured in a tragedy that sparked a national day of mourning in Hungary.
The impact of the crash just before midnight Friday on the northern Italian highway was so violent that the overpass support column actually entered several rows into the bus, officials said Saturday. The ensuing fireball burned some of the 16 dead beyond recognition and torched the bus, leaving just a skeleton of twisted steel.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash near Verona, and the cause wasn't known, said a tearful police commander, Girolamo Lacquaniti. Of the 39 survivors, 26 were injured, some seriously, he said. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told reporters in Budapest that one passenger was in an induced coma.
"The fire was so huge it took up practically half of the three-lane highway," said Lanfranco Fossa, a businessman who stopped to offer help.
"These poor creatures, almost all of them were in short sleeves, some without shoes," he said. "I gave them what I had: a shirt, a blanket. And others stopped to give them things as well."
In Budapest, the government declared a day of national mourning for Monday, with flags to be flown at half-staff and schools around the country holding commemorations.
A black flag flew Saturday above the entrance to the Szinyei Merse Pal high school in Budapest. A few hundred students and parents gathered for a vigil outside the school, some of them weeping, lighting small candles and laying flowers in memory of the victims.
Hungary's Foreign Ministry said it was told 54 passengers and two drivers were on the bus, but said it believes the actual number was higher. The numbers given by Italian officials added up to 55 people.
According to Szijjarto, the bus driver lost control of the vehicle, which hit a guard rail before the overpass support, then exploded. Investigators found no brake marks at the scene, he said.
Judit Timaffy of Hungary's consulate said investigators were looking into the possibility the driver fell asleep.
RAI state radio said a Slovenian truck driver traveling behind the bus had noticed a problem with one of its wheels and tried to alert the driver. But the driver didn't react quickly enough, RAI said. The truck driver stayed at the scene to help until investigators arrived.
By Saturday afternoon, the survivors had been taken to a nearby hotel and were being interviewed by investigators, the ANSA news agency reported. The parents of some of the students were heading there to bring them home.
Condolences to Hungary came in from Italy's president and its foreign minister, as well as the German chancellor.
A firefighter sprays water on the burned hulk of a bus that crashed and burst into flames near Verona, northern Italy, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Police say 16 people have died when the bus carrying Hungarian school students returning home from France crashed into the side of a highway near Verona. Thirty-nine people survived. The bus was returning to Budapest with students ages 15 to 17. (Italian Firfighters/ANSA via AP)
A police car is parked next to a bus that crashed along the A4 highway near Verona, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Police say 16 people have died when a bus of Hungarian school students returning home from France crashed into the side of a highway near Verona. The bus was returning to Budapest with students ages 15 to 17, thirty-nine people survived. (ANSA via AP)
Firefighters inspect the burned hulk of a bus that crashed and burst into flames near Verona, northern Italy, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Police say 16 people have died when the bus carrying Hungarian school students returning home from France crashed into the side of a highway near Verona. Thirty-nine people survived. The bus was returning to Budapest with students ages 15 to 17. (Italian Police/ANSA via AP)
Flames engulf a bus that crashed near Verona, northern Italy, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Police say 16 people have died when the bus carrying Hungarian school students returning home from France crashed into the side of a highway near Verona. Thirty-nine people survived. The bus was returning to Budapest with students ages 15 to 17. (Italian Police/ANSA via AP)
Firefighters inspect the burned hulk of a bus that crashed and burst into flames near Verona, northern Italy, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Police say 16 people have died when the bus carrying Hungarian school students returning home from France crashed into the side of a highway near Verona. Thirty-nine people survived. The bus was returning to Budapest with students ages 15 to 17. (Italian Police/ANSA via AP)
The gutted remains of a bus that crashed and burst into flames near Verona, northern Italy, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Police say 16 people have died when the bus carrying Hungarian school students returning home from France crashed into the side of a highway near Verona. Thirty-nine people survived. The bus was returning to Budapest with students ages 15 to 17. (Italian Police/ANSA via AP)
Flames engulf a bus that crashed near Verona, northern Italy, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Police say 16 people have died when the bus carrying Hungarian school students returning home from France crashed into the side of a highway near Verona. Thirty-nine people survived. The bus was returning to Budapest with students ages 15 to 17. (Lanfranco Fossa' via AP)
Fiorentina's Cristian Tello, center, jubilates with his teammates after scoring during a Serie A soccer match between Chievo Verona and Fiorentina, at Verona's Bentegodi stadium in Verona, Italy, 21 January 2017. (Simone Venezia/ANSA via AP)
Fiorentina's Khouma Babacar, covered by teammates, celebrates after scoring during a Serie A soccer match between Chievo Verona and Fiorentina, at Verona's Bentegodi stadium in Verona, Italy, 21 January 2017. (Simone Venezia/ANSA via AP)
Chievo's goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino, center, fails to block a shot by Fiorentina's Davide Astori during a Serie A soccer match between Chievo Verona and Fiorentina, at Verona's Bentegodi stadium in Verona, Italy, 21 January 2017. (Simone Venezia/ANSA via AP)
Fiorentina's Federico Chiesa celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during a Serie A soccer match between Chievo Verona and Fiorentina, at Verona's Bentegodi stadium in Verona, Italy, 21 January 2017. (Simone Venezia/ANSA via AP)
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