Bus carrying students plunges off cliff in Cabo Verde, killing at least 21

At least 21 people died when a bus carrying mainly young students and teenagers left a road on Cabo Verde’s Fogo Island and plunged into a rocky ravine.

The crash occurred late Saturday afternoon on the road linking Chã das Caldeiras and Campanas de Cima, in the northern part of the São Filipe municipality. The bus fell about 30 meters and came to rest in an area that was difficult for rescue teams to reach.

Authorities initially reported 10 deaths but warned that the toll could rise because of the terrain. More than a dozen people were treated in the emergency department of the San Francisco de Asís Regional Hospital, although the total number of injured had not been confirmed.

President José María Neves called the crash “a true tragedy” and said he did not yet know its cause. “I offer my condolences to the grieving families, the friends of the victims and the island of Fogo,” he wrote on Facebook, according to EFE.

The passengers included secondary-school students, but an education official said the trip was not a school activity. José Pedro Gonçalves said the bus driver, who died in the crash, had traditionally organized the annual outing during the school year. Fogo is one of Cabo Verde’s 10 islands and consists almost entirely of an active volcano.

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