Updated 11.16am AEST



Rome: At least 36 people died when a bus ploughed into several cars before breaking through the guard rail of a bridge and dropping into a ravine in southern Italy’s Avellino province, a police official said.

The bus was travelling downhill near Baiano, Italy, and crashed into a line of slow-moving traffic on a bridge around 8.30pm local time, a police official said in a telephone interview. He asked not to be identified, citing police policy.

Eleven people are in local hospitals with injuries, La Repubblica reported on its website. The bus didn’t slow or stop before hitting the cars, Repubblica said.