At least 18 people have died and several more have been injured this Saturday in a serious traffic accident on the Cape Verdean island of Fogo. A bus went off the road and ended up plunging down a ravine about 30 meters deep in a rocky area, according to local authorities.
The incident took place around 9:00 PM (local time) on Saturday on the road that connects Cha das Caldeiras with Campanas de Cima, in the northern part of the municipality of Sao Felipe.
The councilor for Civil Protection of the municipality, Joao José Canuto, explained to the Cape Verdean agency Inforpress that the death toll could increase, as the exact location of the accident presents especially complicated conditions being in a rocky area near a riverbed that is difficult to access.
According to the same agency, the bus was mainly carrying young high school students. However, the delegate of the Ministry of Education in the area, José Pedro Gonçalves, specified that this trip had not been organized by the educational institutions, but rather it was an activity that the driver carried out every year on his own initiative, and that this individual is among the deceased.
So far, more than a dozen injured have been treated at the emergency service of the Hospital de Sao Francisco de Assis, although it is expected that the number may increase, as the total number of injured has not yet been accurately determined.
Given the magnitude of the accident, the hospital management has activated all available healthcare personnel, both doctors and nurses, including a physician who usually runs a private clinic.
The final count of deceased and injured will be known once the rescue efforts are completed and the identification of the victims is finished, as well as when the possible causes of the accident are clarified.