Sixteen people, including many children, died and forty were injured when a coach carrying students from Hungary hit a pillar and caught fire near Verona, Italy, on 21st January. A truck driver is reported to have seen black smoke coming from the rear of the Setra S317 GT-HD coach before it collided with a crash barrier, hit a bridge pylon and then caught fire.
The fire is thought to have been caused by an electrical short-circuit in lighting poles placed too close to the crash barrier and damaged by the coach, then fuel igniting. Experts have repeatedly called for tighter fire safety regulations in buses and coaches, as these are currently considerably laxer than for railways (see pinfa Newsletter n° 67).
“Italy coach crash: at least 16 dead as bus carrying Hungarian students bursts into flames near Verona”, The Telegraph, 22 Jan. 2017
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/21/least-seven-feared-dead-italian-coach-crash/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Verona_bus_crash