ROME, September 29 (RIA Novosti) - All suitcases and bags were stolen from a bus with Russian tourists in Rome when the bus driver left for a cup of coffee, a guide for the Russian group said Saturday.
"The most terrible thing is that the baggage contained not only the tourists' cash but also all their documents and return flight tickets," she said. "[Police] agents... confirmed the fact of breaking in... They said it was most likely done by Romanian Gypsies, and that it would be very hard to find the perpetrators."
The guide said the Russian tourists will now have to apply for new passports to the Russian consulate in Rome and buy new tickets instead of visiting ancient monuments and other places of interest.
Against a backdrop of increasing numbers of tourists, Italy faces a serious problem of crimes committed by illegal immigrants, and, since Romania joined the European Union on January 1, 2007, by Gypsies whose inflow is significant.
The Russian consul general in Rome, Oleg Terentyev, pledged to issue the documents to the Russian tourists as soon as possible.
The tourists "should come to the consulate without delay, and we will issue duplicates of passports to them. Our duty is to help Russians in trouble," he said.
