At least 25 people, many of them schoolchildren and teenagers, have been killed after a bus plunged into a ravine on the Cape Verde island of Fogo.
The vehicle left the road on the route between Chã das Caldeiras and Campanas de Cima in the mountainous north of the island late on Saturday, falling about 30 metres into a steep and difficult-to-reach ravine.
Local reports said the bus was carrying mainly primary and secondary school pupils. Twenty people died at the scene, while five others later died at São Francisco de Assis Regional Hospital, according to updated figures reported by Cape Verdean media.
Several injured passengers were taken to the hospital in São Filipe, where medical and nursing staff were mobilised to treat those hurt in the crash. Rescue teams worked in challenging terrain, with the wreckage located in a rocky valley near a river.
The journey had reportedly followed an excursion to the volcanic area of Chã das Caldeiras. Education officials said it had not been organised by local schools, but was an annual trip privately arranged by the driver, who was among those killed.
The cause of the crash has not been established. Cape Verde’s president, José Maria Pereira Neves, described the incident as “a great catastrophe” and offered his condolences to the victims’ families.
