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Bus firm owner probed after crash that killed 38

Gennaro Lametta, the owner of Mondo Travel in Naples, is being questioned in connection with a bus crash that killed 38 people near the city of Avellino in Campania on Sunday.

Bus firm owner probed after crash that killed 38
The owner of a bus that crashed on Sunday, killing 38, is being probed by police. Photo: AFP/Carlo Hermann

Two people who work for the highway service company, Autostrade, are also under investigation for poor guardrail installation and upkeep, the prosecutor Rosario Cantelmo told Italian media.

Lametta is the brother of Ciro Lametta, the driver who died in the crash.

The bus had been making its way back from a pilgrimage to Pietrelcina, with 48 people on board, when it careered off the road and plunged 30 feet down a slope.

Investigators probing the state of both the coach and the US-imported Jersey concrete barrier which shattered on impact, leaving the bus to sail over the edge.

The crash happened in an area known as an accident black spot and investigators are also looking into whether the barrier was high enough to withstand impact with larger vehicles.

The vehicle, made in 1995, had more than 800,000 kilometres (500,000 miles) on the clock and bits of the transmission were reported to have fallen off before the accident, possibly slicing through the brake tubes, Italian media said.

Italy held a day of mourning on Tuesday for the victims, as relatives wept over their coffins at a mass funeral near Naples.

The coach crash was the deadliest in western Europe in the last decade and the worst in the continent since an October 2010 accident in Ukraine when 45 people died.

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NAPLES

Champions League: Eight arrested after fans clash with police in Naples

Smoke bombs, flares, chairs, bottles and metal poles were thrown at police in Naples' historic centre on Wednesday, as Eintracht Frankfurt fans descended on the city despite a ban.

Champions League: Eight arrested after fans clash with police in Naples

Three German football fans and five Italians were arrested following violence in Naples before and after Napoli’s Champions League win over Eintracht Frankfurt, a local official said on Thursday.

Six police officers were injured in violence on Wednesday evening, according to Alessandro Giuliano, who is responsible for public safety in Naples.

Police were in the process of identifying 470 German fans who arrived in the city, and were scouring images to establish those responsible for the disorder, he told a press conference.

Dozens of supporters of Atalanta also joined forces with supporters of the German side, with whom they are twinned.

The first clashes occurred on Wednesday afternoon in Naples’ historic centre, and continued after the match, an easy 3-0 win for Napoli which took them through to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time.

Smoke bombs and flares, chairs, bottles and metal poles were thrown at police, who responded with tear gas. Later, Napoli fans were filmed by Italian media throwing objects at buses carrying Eintracht fans.

Naples mayor Gaetano Manfredi condemned the “unacceptable” violence, while opposition politicians have questioned the government’s handling of the situation, notably by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.

Napoli player Juan Jesus said the disorder was “bad for the city, and bad for football”.

“Because people come, then destroy, then leave, it’s not a good thing. It’s not possible to still see this in 2023, we are sorry to see these scenes,” he said.

The German supporters had travelled to southern Italy, with many arriving in Naples by train, even though Eintracht decided against selling tickets for the away section in Naples for the second leg of the last 16 tie.

Eintracht Frankfurt fans clash with anti-riot police after arriving in Naples despite not having tickets for their team’s Champions League decider with Napoli. (Photo by Ciro FUSCO / ANSA / AFP)

The Frankfurt club decided not to take up their allocation after the Naples prefecture decided on Sunday to ban residents of the German city from buying tickets.

A earlier Italian ban on Eintracht fans who lived anywhere in Germany was overturned.

Sunday’s decision came after violence in the first leg that was won 2-0 by Napoli in Frankfurt, which led to nine people being taken into custody.

Eintracht fans have been under close surveillance by European governing body UEFA since the pitch invasion which greeted the club reaching the final of the Europa League, which they won by beating Scottish club Rangers.

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