Hungary: Official says it could take days to ID bus victims
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - It could take days to officially identify the 16 people killed when a bus carrying Hungarian students returning from a ski trip crashed in Italy, Hungary's foreign minister said Sunday.
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said there were 54 passengers and two Hungarian drivers on the bus that crashed on an Italian highway near Verona just before midnight Friday. Two adults hospitalized in critical condition also have yet to be identified.
Szijjarto, visibly shaken by news of the accident, said the days ahead would remain emotionally challenging.
"A day has passed since the tragedy, and it is clear that the pain is even sharper," he told reporters. "As the shock fades, the losses become even more excruciating. The long and more painful process, like the identification of the bodies, is about to begin."
Most of the passengers were students from a Budapest high school returning from a skiing trip in France.
Four passengers remained hospitalized with serious injuries. Szijjarto said one of the unidentified adults in critical condition suffered third-degree burns on 60 percent of his body, while the other person had undergone surgery for a serious head injury.
Candles were still burning on Sunday outside Szinyei Merse Pal high school, where hundreds of students, parents and friends took part in a vigil Saturday evening.
Szijjarto said the causes of the accident have yet to be determined. Italian officials said the bus burst into flames after hitting a highway barrier and then ramming into an overpass support column.
"The bus was practically fully destroyed by the pillar of the highway overpass," Szijjarto said. "For now, we can't responsibly say how exactly the bus got there and have not received any pertinent information."
After conflicting reports about the number of people on the bus, Szijjarto confirmed that the passengers included 43 minors and 11 adults.
The minister said several parents who traveled to Verona had provided DNA samples to help with the identification process.
Szijjarto said he already spoken to the family of one of the reported victims, a young futsal player who belonged to the same sports club as the minister.
Most survivors of the crash were expected to return to Hungary as soon as Sunday, with Hungary's national ambulance service providing transportation for the injured, Szijjarto said.
Hungary has declared Monday a national day of mourning in memory of the victims. Flags on public buildings will be flown at half-staff, and schools around the country have been asked to hold commemorations.