At least 21 people have died and 12 were injured after a tourist coach crashed off an overpass near Venice in northern Italy. The coach was carrying a group of tourists from eastern Europe who were returning to Marghera after spending the day in Venice, according to reports in the Italian media. The coach veered off the road in Mestre and landed close to railway lines where it caught fire, TGCom24 reported. Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, said the bus “flew 30 metres”. “It seems that the aggravating factor of the scenario was determined by the fact that it [the bus] was powered by methane, therefore the fire developed quickly,” he told TG1. Mestre is connected to Venice by a bridge. The cause of the incident is unclear. “It’s an apocalyptic scene. I am speechless,” Venice’s mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, posted on X, formerly Twitter. Sky Italia reported that 18 bodies had so far been dragged from the wreckage after the coach caught fire, with numerous others injured. “There are many deaths, too many,” the fire service told TGCom24. The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, expressed her “deepest condolences for the serious accident that occurred in Mestre”. “Our thoughts go out to the victims and their family and friends,” she said. The coach had reportedly been privately hired by a campsite for its guests.