At least 16 people are dead after a coach carrying Hungarian students crashed and caught fire in northern Italy.

Emergency services say some 40 others were injured, including teachers and parents.

The accident happened on a motorway near the city of Verona, with the bus quickly bursting into flames.

The teenagers were travelling back to Budapest after a holiday in the French Alps.

Witnesses say some of the students managed to save themselves by jumping out of the windows but the fire spread very quickly.

One of the teachers is reported to have gone back into the blazing wreckage to rescue some of the students, receiving severe burns.

Police have opened an investigation, with some reports saying the coach had a problem with one of its wheels.