One dead and several injured after bus carrying 50 Ukrainians overturns in Italy

A woman has died after a bus carrying around 50 Ukrainian nationals has overturned in Italy, according to local reports.

The accident happened on the north eastern coast on the highway between Cesena and Rimini when one vehicle went off the road.

Pictures posted by the fire fighters on Twitter show the overturned bus.

Rescue operations remain underway as crews are now working to remove the body of a young woman from the crash, local media site Cronache Della Campania reported.

The news site added that the accident was reported shortly before 6.45am local time, on the A14 motorway.

An Italian state radio reported that the accident happened near the town of Forli’ which is in the region of Emilia-Romagna bordering the Adriatic Sea.

Around 35,000 Ukrainians refugees who fled the war have entered Italy, most of them through its northeastern border with Slovenia.

More than 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine, U.N. agencies said on Friday, and a further 2 million have been displaced from their homes within the country since the start of a Russian invasion on Feb. 24.

Poland has welcomed the largest number of refugees with over 1.5 million fleeing Ukrainians entering the neighbouring country’s borders, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

Ukrainian refugees face uncertain journeys in seeking refuge as multiple attempts at ceasefires and humanitarian corridors have been broken, with photos emerging last week of three members from one family died after an explosion hit a supposedly safe corridor.

Britons are now being encouraged to open their homes to Ukrainian refugees who arrive in the UK with a £350 per month payment by the government.

The Homes for Ukraine scheme, to be rolled out this week, will allow individuals, charities, community groups and businesses to bring people fleeing the war to safety – even if they have no ties to the UK.

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here.