38 killed in Italy bus accident

At least 38 people have died after a bus plunged about 30 metres off a viaduct in southern Italy, officials say.

Eleven people have been pulled out alive from the mangled wreckage of the bus and taken to hospital, some with serious injuries, a spokesman for the fire service said.

The bus was lying on its side in a clearance in a wooded area, after smashing through a guardrail and plunging into a ravine, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. The bus looked as if it had partially split open.

The crash took place late on Sunday night on the 116 autostrada near Avellino, about 250km south of Rome.

State radio quoted Avellino police as saying the bus driver was among the dead.

Italian television quoted people at the scene as saying about 49 people were on the bus, which was reportedly filled with Italian pilgrims returning from an excursion in the Puglia area.

Highway police said the bus crashed into cars that had been slowed by heavy traffic.

The location of the accident complicated rescue efforts.

Motorists and their passengers whose vehicles were hit by the bus stood on the highway near their vehicles.

One car's rear was completely crumpled, while another was smashed on its side. It was not immediately known if there were injuries in any of those cars.

Police would not put a definitive number on those killed in the accident.