ROME, Jan 5: A car plowed into a group of young German tourists in northern Italy early Sunday, killing 6 people and injuring 11, Italian fire officials said.

The deadly crash occurred in a village near Valle Aurina, near Bolzano in the Alto Adige region, shortly after 1 a.m. as the Germans were gathering to board their bus.

The Lutago volunteer fire service said in a Facebook post that the six dead were killed at the scene. The injured were taken to several nearby hospitals.

Sky TG24 quoted Italian carabinieri as saying the driver was believed to be from the area and had a high alcohol blood content.

The regional president of Alto Adige, Arno Kompatscher, told a press conference the victims were part of a group of young Germans in the region on vacation.

The largely German-speaking autonomous region of northern Italy, with its ski resorts in the Dolomites and quaint villages around Bolzano, is popular with German tourists. The accident occurred on the final long weekend of the Christmas and New Year’s holiday in Italy, which will be capped by Epiphany on Monday.

 
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