Bus crash in Cape Verde kills at least 25, many schoolchildren

At least 25 people, many of them schoolchildren and teenagers, were killed when a passenger bus plunged into a ravine on the mountainous Fogo island in Cape Verde, local media and officials said Sunday. The crash took place late Saturday (local time) on the Campanas de Cima mountain road in northern Fogo. The bus veered off the road and plunged about 30 metres into a steep ravine, according to national news agency Inforpress. Several passengers were injured and taken to Sao Francisco de Assis Regional Hospital. Many of those killed were primary and secondary school students. Education officials said the outing had not been organised by local schools but was an annual trip privately arranged by the driver, who was also killed in the crash. Cape Verde president José Maria Pereira Neves described the accident as “a great catastrophe” and was expected to visit Fogo along with other officials on Sunday (local time). Seven bodies were buried immediately because of their condition, local media reported, citing the island’s health authorities. Authorities had not yet determined what caused the crash.