THIS is the horrifying moment a tour coach crashed into an icy river when the driver tried to reverse.
Harrowing footage shows the bus moving backwards before tipping over and going plunging into the water below in Turin.
The coach tipping and plunging into the river[/caption]
The tilted coach almost entirely swallowed by the river[/caption]
The driver reversing just moments before the coach plunged into the river[/caption]
The coach driver, 64, tragically died in the coach crash – while several pedestrians were injured.
Dozens of locals and tourists strolling along the River Po witnessed the shocking moment and could do nothing but watch in disbelief as the tragedy unfolded.
Three pedestrians were struck by the vehicle as it rolled towards the edge of the river.
The driver, Nicola Di Carlo, who was also the owner of the transport company, was the only person on board the coach.
He had driven a group of primary school kids from Milan on a school trip earlier that day.
One person told local media: “It hit us while reversing, then struck the wall and plunged into the river.
“We were on foot. The bus just brushed past my aunt and cousin. They got away with just a few bruises.”
Rowers from a club along the riverbank were first to respond before emergency services arrived.
They jumped into the water and managed to pull Di Carlo from the vehicle.
Witness Filippo Camedda told local media: “The rowers reacted really quickly. We gave them a hammer to break the coach windows.
“It seems he was already dead by the time they got him to shore.”
The tragedy “happened in a fraction of a second”, another witness said.
Despite attempts to resuscitate Di Carlo, his heart failed to restart.
Firefighters recovered the coach later that night, and it will be examined as part of the ongoing investigation.
The autopsy results are yet to be confirmed, but it’s believed Di Carlo may have suffered a medical emergency before the crash.
Turin mayor Stefano Lo Russo said: “The consequences could have been even worse.
“Right now, our thoughts and sympathies go out to the victim’s family.”
This comes after a bus tragically fell down a huge ravine in Bolivia in February, killing at least 30 people and injuring 15 people.
The passenger bus was said to have lost control while speeding before plunging into a half-mile-deep abyss.
Another bus smashed into two cars and a safety barrier before plunging into a 10ft-deep murky river in Saint Petersburg, killing seven people in October.
The bus driver, who fell asleep at the wheel, was jailed for six years.
Several days ago, three people were injured after a double-decker bus crashed outside a tourist hotspot in London.
Emergency services rushed to the crash site near St Paul’s Cathedral.
