A school bus driver on Wednesday allegedly held 51 children and their chaperones hostage on a bus in the northern Italian city San Donato Milanese before setting it on fire.

All of the children were rescued when the bus crashed following a police chase, allowing officers to force open the back door and help students off the bus, as the driver threatened suicide.

The man, who police said was an Italian of Senegalese origin, allegedly ordered a teacher to tie the children's hands with plastic ties but the teacher only loosely attached the ties to four or five of them so that they could easily free themselves afterwards, local sources said according to Italian news agency ANSA.

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ANSA reported that the ordeal lasted for almost 40 minutes as the man, apparently angry over government migrant policy, confiscated their phones and said no one would survive.

Carabinieri police commander Luca De Marchis said the bus driver, who was not armed, faces kidnapping and attempted mass murder charges, ANSA reported.

"We wanted to interrogate him immediately but he has burns on one arm," Milan chief prosecutor Francesco Greco told journalists, according to ANSA.

A perilous trek: refugees' journey from Syria to Germany Anything but home More than 240,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict since it broke out in 2011, and millions have been forced to flee their homes. In a desperate move, many of them decide to catch trains, walk and even pay human smugglers to leave Syria for Europe. In this photo, Syrians conduct search and rescue operations after government forces staged an attack on residential areas in Damascus.

A perilous trek: refugees' journey from Syria to Germany First stop: Turkey Some Syrians who come to Turkey's Izmir province before traveling by sea to Europe live in hostels, while others who can't afford a hostel room live in tents that they set up in parks and streets - or are forced to sleep outside, like this refugee girl lying on the pavement of an Izmir street.

A perilous trek: refugees' journey from Syria to Germany Approaching Greece After leaving Turkey, refugees hope to enter Europe through Greece. In this photo, a group of refugees rows an inflatable dinghy across a part of the Aegean sea from the Turkish coast to the Greek island of Kos, hoping to continue their journey to western Europe. Kos has been unprepared for the huge influx of refugees that have landed on its shores.

A perilous trek: refugees' journey from Syria to Germany Heading for mainland Europe A young girl from Syria sleeps underneath passenger seats onboard a ferry during a ten-hour journey from Kos to the Greek mainland port of Piraeus. From Piraeus many refugees continue north to the Greek border, where they cross into Macedonia at the town of Idomeni. Since the beginning of 2015 thousands of migrants have used the so-called 'Balkans route,' continuing on to Serbia.

A perilous trek: refugees' journey from Syria to Germany Sealed borders Last month, Macedonia declared a "state of emergency" and said it would mobilize the army to stop refugees from crossing its borders. The move reversed previously lax border controls, so thousands of refugees arrived at the border thinking they would cross rather easily. In the picture, refugees cram into a full train heading to Serbia at the train station in Gevgelija, Macedonia.

A perilous trek: refugees' journey from Syria to Germany Resting in Belgrade The number of migrants passing through Macedonia into Serbia is increasing. The Serb capital, Belgrade, is often used as a resting point. From the beginning of 2015 to mid-June, nearly 160,000 migrants landed in southern European countries, according to estimates by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). In the picture, refugees chat in a park in Belgrade.

A perilous trek: refugees' journey from Syria to Germany After Serbia, Hungary is overwhelmed Lawmakers in Budapest have increased punishments for illegal border crossings as police continue to clash with refugees trying to leave the country. Hungary says it is enforcing EU rules that it must register all refugees caught crossing its borders, but thousands are demanding to be allowed to continue their journey - in this case, holding pictures of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

A perilous trek: refugees' journey from Syria to Germany Unexpected obstacles The next stop after Budapest should be Austria. However, things don't always go as planned. Here, a young girl holds up a sign during a protest at Bicske Station, where some refugees have been taken to stay while Hungary processes their asylum requests. Many refuse to apply, fearing they will be sent back to Hungary if caught later in western and northern Europe.

A perilous trek: refugees' journey from Syria to Germany A warm welcome Thousands of refugees have arrived in Austria and Germany after having been stranded in Hungary for days. Some of the refugees speak about their relief at finally being able to leave Hungary, which is run by the anti-immigrant right-wing government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Many Munich residents have turned out to help them feel at home at last.

A perilous trek: refugees' journey from Syria to Germany What's next? A German policeman helps refugees at Munich's main train station. Germany has given the refugees a very warm welcome, but German politicians have been discussing how to cope with the huge intake of people seeking asylum. The refugees' arrival poses numerous challenges not only for those who have fled, but also for those who take them in. Author: Dana Regev (AP, AFP, reuters)



Student managed to call police

"We were all very scared," said one boy who was interviewed anonymously by La Repubblica newspaper. "He tied us all up and seized all mobile phones so that we could not call the police."

But one mobile fell on the floor and the boy used it to call the police after managing to untie his hands, according to La Repubblica.

Police spokesman Marco Palmieri said the after police arrested the man, "He shouted, 'Stop the deaths at sea, I'll carry out a massacre.'"

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A boy from the bus said that "[the bus driver] wanted revenge for his daughters" who died at sea while trying to reach Italy, according to a video posted by Agenzia Vista. "He wanted revenge for his three daughters and to kill us," he said.

The Italian government has closed its ports to charity rescue ships that pick up migrants off the Libyan coast. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has said this has helped reduce deaths because far fewer people are now putting to sea.

The United Nations estimates that some 2,297 migrants drowned or went missing in the Mediterranean in 2018 as they tried to reach Europe.

Terrorism not ruled out

Milan anti-terrorism prosecutor Alberto Nobili told German news agency DPA that the man's motives were unclear, but prosecutors were not ruling out terrorism. "Yes, we are considering all hypotheses," Nobili said.

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"The important thing is that, thanks to the courage of the children ... an event that could have had a tragic outcome had a happy ending," Marchis said, according to ANSA.

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the man had a criminal record for drink driving and sexual assault, and suggested he was unfit to work as a school bus driver.

law/rc (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

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