A bus driver in Italy abducted 51 school children and took them on an hour-long drive before setting the bus ablaze when he was stopped by Carabinieri blockade.
The flames destroyed the vehicle but not before officers got every passenger out of it without anyone sustaining any serious injuries.
The bus driver who was apprehended stated that he was protesting migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, Commander Luca De Marchis said.
“While two officers kept the driver busy – he took a lighter and threatened to set fire to the vehicle with a gasoline canister on board – the others forced open the back door,” De Marchis said.
De Marchis credited the officers’ “swiftness and courage” in getting all the children and their teachers out of the vehicle “with no tragic consequences”.
