DFA: No Filipinos in tragic bus crash in Italy

Coffins are lined up near the wreckage of a bus following a crash near Avellino, southern Italy, early Monday, July 29, 2013. A tour bus filled with Italians returning home after an excursion plunged off a highway into a ravine in southern Italy on Sunday night after it had smashed into several cars that were slowed by heavy traffic, killing at least 37 people, said police and rescuers. Flashing signs near Avellino, outside Naples, had warned of slowed traffic ahead along a stretch of the A16 autostrada, a major highway crossing southern Italy, before the crash occurred, said highway police and officials, speaking on state radio early Monday. They said the bus driver, for reasons not yet determined, appeared to have lost control of his vehicle. AP

MANILA, Philippines – No Filipinos were involved in the recent bus crash in Italy that left at least 38 people dead, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday.

The Philippine Embassy in Rome had confirmed with the police chief of Avellino town, Campania Region that there were no Filipino casualties from the crash that happened last Sunday, DFA spokesman assistant secretary Raul Hernandez told reporters.

“Our Philippine Embassy in Rome reported to the DFA … that there [are] no Filipinos involved in the tour bus that crashed late Sunday night near Avellino, about 200 kilometers south of Rome,” he said.

The bus was reportedly travelling at high speed along the A16 highway between Naples and Bari when it hit several vehicles before plunging off a flyover. Witnesses reportedly said the bus looked like it had brake problems.

The passengers of the bus were coming from a pilgrimage in Pietrelcina and were on their way back to Naples. Local media reported that there were around 50 passengers on the bus and many where children.