At least 16 people have been killed in a bus crash in Italy's Verona on Friday (20 January) night. Most of the passengers were school children from Hungary who were returning home from a trip to France.

According Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper, the bus was headed towards Venice when it crashed into a pylon on a motorway in the northern Italian town. All passengers in the bus were aged between 14 and 18 years.

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Local media reports said that the bus caught fire, but it is not clear if the blaze occurred before or after the crash. Police is investigating the cause of the accident.

The Associated Press quoted police commander Geralomo Lacquanita as saying that rescue workers have already recovered 16 burnt bodies from the crash site. Some 39 people have survived the accident.

The officer added that the bus crashed and burst into flames just before midnight on Friday. He also said that no other vehicles were involved in the crash and that they are investigating why the bus went off the road, crashing into the barriers.

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