At least 21 killed after bus carrying students plunges off cliff in Cape Verde

At least 21 people died after a bus carrying mainly young students and teenagers plunged into a rocky ravine on Cape Verde’s Fogo Island, President José María Neves said.

The bus left the road late Saturday on the route linking Chã das Caldeiras and Campanas de Cima, in the northern part of the municipality of São Filipe. It fell about 30 metres before coming to rest in a steep and difficult-to-reach area.

Authorities initially reported 10 deaths but warned that the toll could rise as search and rescue teams worked at the site. More than a dozen people were treated in the emergency department of San Francisco de Asís Regional Hospital, although officials had not confirmed the total number of injured.

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A true tragedy, whose causes I still do not know. I offer my condolences to the grieving families, the victims’ friends and the island of Fogo.

Neves described the crash as “a true tragedy, whose causes I still do not know” and offered condolences to the victims’ families and friends. He also wished the injured a quick recovery.

Although secondary-school students were on the bus, José Pedro Gonçalves, the Education Ministry’s delegate in São Filipe, said the trip was not a school initiative. It was an annual outing that the driver usually organized during the school year. The driver was among those killed. The cause of the crash remained unknown.

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I wish the injured a quick recovery.