At least 25 people, most of them children and teenagers, were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine on Fogo island in Cape Verde late on Saturday, the Atlantic archipelago’s news organisations reported on Sunday.
The bus was carrying 32 passengers and veered off the road before falling into a deep ravine, Ada Derana reported, citing public radio network RCV. National news agency Inforpress, carried by Hiru News, reported the vehicle fell about 30 metres into a steep ravine on a mountain road.
Several other passengers were injured, some of them seriously, according to Jose Canuto, head of civil protection for the city of Sao Filipe. Injured passengers were taken to the Sao Francisco de Assis Regional Hospital on Fogo.
An annual trip organised by the driver
The group was returning to Sao Filipe after an excursion to Cha das Caldeiras, a village that sits inside the crater of the Pico do Fogo volcano, local authorities said.
The dead include the bus driver. He had organised the outing to the site every year as a gift for the pupils he drove to school during term time, RCV reported. Education officials told Inforpress the trip was not arranged by local schools but was a private annual excursion organised by the driver himself.
Many of those on board were primary and secondary school students.
Emergency crews worked through the night to reach victims trapped in the wreckage, which came to rest in a rocky valley that is difficult to access.
Seven of the dead were buried early on Sunday, with the remaining funerals expected later the same day, according to RCV.
Fatal crashes of this scale are rare in the West African archipelago, where roads are generally in good condition.
