Published on : Thursday, April 18, 2019
Drone footage of the aftermath of the accident showed the wreckage of the bus resting precariously on its side against a building on a hillside. The roof of the bus was partially crushed and the front window was smashed.
Rescue workers attended to injured passengers among the undergrowth where the bus came to rest, some of them bearing bloodied head bandages and bloodstained clothes, others appearing to be more seriously hurt.
Its subtropical climate and rugged volcanic terrain attracts more than one million tourists to the Atlantic islands off the coast of Morocco each year.
As per Filipe Sousa, mayor of Santa Cruz where the accident happened, said 17 women and 11 men were killed in the crash, with another 21 injured.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said, “I express the sorrow and solidarity of all the Portuguese people in this tragic moment, and especially for the families of the victims who I have been told were all German.”
German holidaymakers were the second largest group after British tourists to visit the islands according to Madeira’s tourism office.
The regional protection service in Madeira confirmed 28 deaths in the accident that happened at 6:30 pm (1730 GMT) Wednesday. Hospital authorities said another woman later died of her injuries.
Tags: Portugal, tourist bus crash