A bus carrying refugees from Ukraine crashed in Italy this week, killing a mother traveling with her young children, according to reports.
The deadly incident unfolded at around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday morning on the A14 motorway near Cesena, a commune on Italy's northeastern coast.
The bus had originally departed the city of Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine carrying 54 passengers, most of whom were fleeing the ongoing conflict.
Approximately half of the riders had exited at points along the journey before tragedy struck.
"The bus entered Italy at the Trieste border crossing, and its final destination was to be Pescara, after a series of stops," ANSA reports.
"At a certain point, for reasons still unknown, the driver lost control of the bus. It went off the road, over a ditch, and overturned in the Cesenate countryside. There were 22 people on board at that time."
Many of the passengers managed to escape the crash with minor injuries, but a 32-year-old woman who was traveling with her two children did not survive the wreck after being trapped under the vehicle.
È una donna la vittima dell'incidente avvenuto questa mattina in A14 vicino Cesena che ha visto ribaltarsi un pullman che trasportava cittadini ucraini. Il mezzo aveva targa ucraina e risulta essere partito direttamente dal Paese in guerra con destinazione Pescara. #ANSA pic.twitter.com/iLJNOAhHbN
— Agenzia ANSA (@Agenzia_Ansa) March 13, 2022
The youngsters, aged five and 10, were taken to hospital for treatment and released into the care of relatives.
It is unclear what caused the crash, but blood testing of the driver reportedly did not indicate drugs or alcohol were to blame.
Authorities believe the driver may have been overly fatigued and fallen asleep at the wheel.
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(PHOTO: Stefano Guidi/Getty Images)