Italy in shock after school bus hijack inferno

CREMA: Italy was in shock on Thursday after the dramatic rescue of 51 children taken hostage by their school bus driver who torched the vehicle in protest at Mediterranean migrant deaths. The Italian driver of Senegalese origin on Wednesday hijacked the bus as it was taking the 12-13 year-olds from a gym to school in Crema, east of Milan.

Armed with two petrol canisters and a cigarette lighter, Ousseynou Sy threatened the youngsters, took their telephones and told the adults to tie them up with electric cable.

The 40-minute ordeal, during which the bus also slammed into a car, was brought to an end when police managed to smash windows open and get those onboard out just as the driver set fire to the vehicle.

A dozen children and two adults were taken to hospital for smoke and fume inhalation, according to emergency services. “It’s crazy, absurd, it’s unacceptable. Someone has to pay, and dearly,” said Filippo Razzini, the father of a pupil at the school in the small town of Crema who was not on the bus.

The driver’s lawyer said his client had wanted to “draw attention to the consequences of (Italy’s) migration policies”.

Italy has clamped down on immigration under farright Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, demanding it close its ports to charity vessels rescuing migrants who are trying to cross the Mediterranean.

“This villain has to pay for everything,” said Salvini, whose League party is riding high in the polls in part because of its tough anti-migrant stance.

He said Sy’s citizenship could be revoked if convicted of terror under a tough security decree introduced last year.

The Milan police antiterrorism unit has been charged with investigating the hostage-taking, during which Sy reportedly told students: “No one is getting out of here alive.” Police were alerted to the situation after one of the students held on the bus called them from his mobile phone.