ROME -- Amongst thirteen Erasmus students killed when their bus crashed in Catalonia are seven young Italians.  The bus, which was travelling between Valencia and Barcelona, crashed on Sunday morning causing the deaths of these students and dozens of other injuries.

 It was reported by the official Catalan News Agency that all of those who died were female.  The Spanish Minister of the Interior Jordi Jane reported that the others consisted of two Germans, a Romanian, an Uzbek, a French girl and an Austrian.

 It emerged throughout Sunday that the victims included Valentina Gallo from Florence, Elena Maestrini from Tuscany and Serena Saracino from Turin.

 The accident happened at around six on Sunday morning on the motorway near Freginals, where a convoy of five buses were returning after being hired by Erasmus Student Network to transport the students from Barcelona to Valencia for the ‘Night of Fire’ to celebrate the ‘Fiesta de Las Fallas’.

 It is believed the driver lost control of the wheel after a fit of sleepiness and crashed through the guardrail and into a car travelling in the opposite direction.  The two people travelling in the car were injured, but thankfully survived.  When asked about the cause of the accident Jane replied that it was down to “human error.”  The man is being held for “homicide by carelessness” and after being treated for his wounds in hospital was transferred to the police office in Mossos de Tortosa to give his statement.

 The Catalonian high court has confirmed that he tested negative for drugs and alcohol.  He had been working as a bus driver for 17 years, and had apparently never been involved in an accident.

 Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi gave his condolences via a post on Twitter, saying: “My heart is breaking for the Italian victims and for the other young lives lost in the accident in Spain.”  The Minister for Education Stefania Giannini also expressed with a tweet, “deep and painful dismay for what has happened in Spain, my heart goes out to the families of the young victims.”

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