"I'm fine, even if I'm in shock; happy to have saved the people who were on board, who were my priority".
So Demis Jackets, 46, from Jesolo (Venice), the driver of the ATVO bus that caught fire on the Ponte della Libertà in Venice.
"I was arriving from Treviso airport and was about to reach Piazzale Roma, where I would have dropped off the last people on board; then the working day would have ended for me - he says -. As I was walking along the Ponte della Libertà I heard a bang; I thought a tire had blown but looking in the rear view mirror I saw the flame coming from the rear engine.At that point I immediately stopped the bus, let the passengers get off,
I sounded the alarm and took the fire extinguisher supplied, but there was nothing to do.
Then the firefighters arrived".
"It is essential, in moments like these - he points out -, not to panic.
Before being a driver, a profession that began about two years ago, I was a lifeguard, a job that leads you to have responsibility towards people, who become your priority.
Then the fire-fighting courses organized through Atvo certainly help".
"I'm very sorry about the bus, also because it's like it was my car - concludes Sediatto -.
The important thing is that no one was hurt and for this I am happy". (ANSA).
ANSA agency
Bus on fire, traffic blocked on the bridge for Venice - Veneto
The engine caught fire, the driver disembarked all the passengers who managed to get to safety.
Regulate railway traffic while that of cars is blocked in both directions (ANSA)