A dozen people, including foreign tourists, were injured when a 50-year-old tree collapsed next to a bus stop in the Italian lagoon city of Venice, authorities have said.
The oak tree fell on a group of people waiting in a shaded area at Piazzale Roma, the last stop for buses and taxis ferrying visitors to and from the lagoon city from the mainland, city officials said.
The most seriously injured was a 30-year-old Italian, who was sitting on a wall near the tree with her two children when it fell, Italian media reported.
The woman is in a critical condition with abdominal injuries, while her children were not seriously injured and have been placed under psychological care, according to hospital officials.
Another Italian woman in her 50s is also in critical condition after suffering chest injuries.
A 60-year-old US citizen is under observation for a head injury, while their 70-year-old compatriot suffered facial injuries. Two tourists from Eastern Europe both suffered bruising.
A video from the scene showed the tree had snapped at the trunk, just above the roots, although what caused it to collapse was not immediately clear.
“The tree was apparently healthy,” Francesca Zaccariotto, the city’s top public works official, told Italian news agency ANSA.
She added that the tree was monitored along with others in the city, and there had been no signs indicating a possible collapse.
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