A passenger caught up in a fatal bus crash in Italy has hit out at the coach operator as she claims the only support that was offered was a €10 (£8.60) meal voucher.
Sinead Curry, from Sydney, said she was travelling north on a FlixBus service from Bari, and most passengers were asleep when the bus served to avoid another car.
The incident happened near Avellino, around 30 miles outside of Naples, reports ABC News, and Ms Curry said that the bus was hit by other cars after it had tipped onto its side.
“It rolled around a bunch of times, it then landed and all the windows on one side smashed,” she said. “We crawled under the broken window, in the mud to get out.
“We were sheltering behind the bus, and then the cars started to hit the bus. We had to wait at least half an hour for anyone to come. Everyone was screaming in their native language.”
Vigili del Fuoco, Italy’s fire and rescue service, wrote on Twitter that the coach had 38 people on board and five cars were involved in the accident, which happened yesterday morning (4 June). One man died and 14 people were injured.
Sharing her story on TikTok, Ms Curry – who at first can be seen in hospital and wearing a neck brace – accused FlixBus of providing passengers with little assistance, or any advice on next steps, including how to retrieve their luggage.
When she tried calling, the phone lines “ring out and they hang up on us”, she claimed, although she said she was offered (via text) a €10 meal replacement voucher from FlixBus “for the inconvenience”.
“There are a bunch of people here who nearly died. We don’t have any information,” she said in her TikTok post.
In a follow-up video from beside the recovered wreckage of the coach, Ms Curry alleged that the company had “blocked” her on social media, and in a subsequent clip from Rome, she said they were put on a private shuttle bus to continue their journey.
Ms Curry told ABC News: “When someone from FlixBus turned up, he was happy-go-lucky, making jokes. All of us are scared for our life. We had no food, no water, no support until the local fire service took us in.
“Those who survived need to be offered adequate financial compensation for this near-fatal, permanently harmful, traumatic event.”
A spokesperson for FlixBus toldThe Independent: “FlixBus regrets to confirm that a bus operating on behalf of FlixBus between Lecce and Rome, Italy, was involved in a car accident yesterday, 4 June, at around 3.45am in the A16, KM 100/700, near Calaggio. On board, there were 38 passengers and two drivers.
“According to the latest information available, 26 passengers and one bus driver were injured and taken to nearby hospitals. Two of the passengers and one of the bus drivers suffered serious injuries. The passengers that were slightly injured received medical attention on site and were taken to the municipal gymnasium of Grottaminarda, Avellino, from where they were transported by a replacement bus.
“FlixBus is maintaining close contact to all authorities on site and closely cooperating with them to investigate the causes of the event.
“At all times, the safety of its passengers and drivers is of highest priority to FlixBus.”
