Di Nigerian and Gambian heroes wey rescue crash survivors from burning vehicle for Italy

Wen Boubacar Touré and im flatmates hear one sudden, thundering crash beside dia apartment, dem bin tink say na earthquake. But dem come open di windows of dia kitchen, wia dem bin dey cook dinner, and one shout say: "One bus don fall."

"We run down to di spot wia di bus dey on fire and I hear one woman dey scream, 'My baby, my baby,'" 27-year-old Boubacar wey come from The Gambia tok, im eyes heavy with tiredness.

"I bin manage to pull her through di window and pull out her son wey dey badly burnt but still dey alive."

Di bus wey dey carri tourist back to one nearby campsite afta one day for di historical centre of Venice bin dey drive along one busy overpass wen e suddenly move fast comot di side on Tuesday evening. E smash through di barriers and fall several metres towards one railway track wia e burst into flames.

At least 21 pipo die. Most of di pipo wey injure dey for intensive care. Some of di victims na children, including baby.

Among di dead na pipo from seven kontris, Venice mayor office tok, including Ukraine, Germany, Romania and Portugal.

Boubacar describe how im grab di fire extinguisher from di bus to help kill di flames - but e no dey enough.

"Pipo wey dey pass bin dey give me oda extinguishers but notin help, we need to wait for di firefighters", e tok. "So I pull odas to safety, one woman and one man and one pikin. Pipo bin dey bleed from dia heads, so much blood dey."

Im flatmate, Odion Eboigbe from Nigeria, dey wit am, as dem pull odas through di remains of di destroyed vehicle - one electric-powered bus wey di batteries fit don catch fire.

"We bin dey able to save many but unfortunately oda pipo die," e tok.

"I bin no dey fear, I bin no tink of my own safety sake of say I see pipo as dia head open. Today my colleagues ask me: 'wetin you bin dey tink wen you go towards di flames,' and I tell dem I just need to save di women and children."

Once emergency workers bin arrive, dem spend hours to put off di flames and helping pipo wey injure.

Di fire dey so much say dem need to do DNA samples to identify some of di dead.

At di spot for di overpass wia di bus take im final turn, di guard-rails dey broken apart and glass remains lie for ground. One pesin wey dey pass don put yellow flowers dia.

Authorities tok say sign say di bus break suddenly no dey. Indeed, CCTV from di moment before di crash show as di vehicle dey steadily climb di overpass and den slow down before e lose balance against di barriers and fall off to di side.

Di driver, Alberto Rizzotto, don work for di bus company for seven years. Di most likely cause be say im get sudden medical problem wey make am lose control, authorities tok. For im last Facebook post, e tok say im bin dey "run a shuttle to Venice."

Relatives of di victims don start to dey arrive from abroad. Citizens of Ukraine, Germany, Croatia and Spain dey among di pipo wey injure.

According to local media, dem include two German brodas, wey be 7 and 13 years, wey lose both dia parents. "Entire families, grandparents, grandchildren, spouses" also dey on board, Chiara Berti from di Angelo di Mestre hospital tok.

Di tragedy don already raise questions about di state of di barriers on di overpass wey don old and rust.

Domenico Musicco, di head of one association for road accident victims, call am "tragedy foretold".

"Italian road maintenance dey poor. Too little dey invested for road safety. E dey estimated say 30% of accidents na sake of dat," e tell di news agency AFP.

Venice don declare three days of mourning for di tragedy wey don seriously shake dis city.

Boubacar and Odion tok say dem neva sleep since di crash.

Wen I tell dem say some pipo go call dem heroes, dey just brush am komot. "If saving pipo fit make you a hero, den no wahala," Boubacar tok.

"But wen pesin need help sake of say dem dey die, you no fit just walk away."