The echo of a thunderous crash reverberated through the bustling streets of Venice, swiftly pulling Boubacar Touré and his roommates away from their warm dinner preparations. Peering out of their kitchen window, they saw the horrific sight of a bus careening off a busy overpass, plunging a harrowing distance to the waiting railway tracks below where it erupted into a ferocious inferno.
Boubacar, a 27-year-old Gambia native, rushed to the scene with his roommates. The haunting screams of a woman frantically calling out for her child could be heard amidst the fiery chaos. “My baby, my baby,” she cried. Showing immense bravery, Boubacar broke through the window of the burning bus and managed to rescue both the woman and her severely injured son.
The ill-fated vehicle was returning tourists from an exploration of Venice’s historical center to their nearby campsite. Tuesday evening’s catastrophic crash has left 21 people dead, including children and a baby, with 15 others severely injured and receiving intensive care.
In the aftermath of intense fire and loss, the roars of the flames have silenced to reveal grim reminders. Among those lost were nationals from seven countries, including Ukraine, Germany, Romania, and Portugal. The extreme intensity of the fire has necessitated the use of DNA samples for identification for some victims.
Boubacar recounted his futile attempts to tame the flames with a fire extinguisher from the wreckage. Despite the fear and chaos, he and his flatmate, Odion Eboigbe, continued pulling survivors from the wreckage, their courage standing tall amidst the despair.
As the injury toll rises, questions are being raised about the state of Venice’s overpass barriers. Already wearied by age and rusty integrity, their role in this devastating incident is under scrutiny. Domenico Musicco, a leading advocate for road accident victims, has labeled it a preventable casualty of poor road maintenance and ineffective safety measures.
Consequently, Venice has declared three days of mourning, a testament to the profound grief that has blanketed the city in the wake of this tragedy. For Boubacar and Odion, their help in the midst of chaos, pulling survivors from the mangled wreck and raging fire, may be called heroic. But for them, it was simply an act of human kindness.
“To walk away while someone is dying is not something we could do,” says Boubacar with quiet resolve. The haunting echoes of the fire and the screams may eventually fade, but the mark this tragedy has left on Venice – and the memory of their unexpected bravery – will endure.
