The number of deceased from the serious traffic accident that occurred on the island of Fogo, in Cape Verde, has risen to 25 after a bus went off the road and plunged down a ravine of about 30 meters in height in a rocky area, local authorities have confirmed.
The president of the Municipal Chamber of Sao Filipe, Nuías Silva, has provided the most recent balance of the accident, recorded around 9:00 PM (local time) on Saturday on the road that connects Cha das Caldeiras with Campanas de Cima, in the northern sector of the municipality of Sao Felipe, as reported by the Cape Verdean newspaper "A Naçao".
Hours earlier, the councilor for Civil Protection of the municipality, Joao José Canuto, had already warned the Cape Verdean agency Inforpress, when the provisional death toll was 18, that the number of victims could increase due to the complicated conditions at the site of the accident, located in a rocky area near a riverbed that is very difficult to access.
According to that agency, the bus was mainly carrying young high school students. However, the delegate of the Ministry of Education in the area, José Pedro Gonçalves, has specified that this trip was not promoted by the educational institutions, but rather it was an excursion that the driver himself —who is among the deceased— organized every year on personal initiative.
So far, more than a dozen injured have been treated at the emergency service of the Hospital of Sao Francisco de Assis, although the number could be higher, as it has not yet been possible to determine the total number of injured with accuracy. Given the magnitude of the tragedy, the management of the healthcare center has mobilized all available medical and nursing staff to care for the victims.