A minibus got off the road and overturned Thursday, July 22 on the famous tourist island of Capri, near Naples, killing the driver and injuring a dozen people, including four foreign tourists, French and Lebanese.
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The minibus, which was carrying around 20 passengers, crashed into the safety rails in a bend before falling ten meters below on the beach, according to Italian news agencies.
The vehicle was on a hill and was not traveling fast, which led investigators to consider the driver's discomfort as the possible origin of this departure from the road.
A "
huge tragedy
" narrowly avoided
"
A few more meters and that would have been a huge tragedy,
" said Gemma Rocchi, owner of the bathing establishment next to which the bus fell, quoted by the AGI agency.
“
The bus almost smashed through the solarium, where at least 20 people were sunbathing.
A miracle,
”she added, according to the same source.
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The police were still carrying out surveys on the spot Thursday afternoon, noted an AFP journalist.
Rescue helicopters have made numerous round trips to Naples, as the small island has only a limited capacity hospital.
In the alleys of central Capri, traders and locals were exchanging panic-stricken calls to hear from loved ones, and part of the beach where the bus fell had to be closed for the purposes of the investigation.
The accident happened near the wharf where tourists arriving from the mainland disembark.
