Bus Plunges Off Cliff in Cape Verde, Killing 25 Mostly Students

At least 25 people, most of them children and adolescents, died Saturday night when a bus returning from a school trip veered off a road on the Cape Verde island of Fogo and fell into a deep ravine. The vehicle was carrying 32 passengers back to São Filipe after an annual excursion near the Pico do Fogo volcano.

Witnesses told authorities a tire exploded, causing the driver to lose control; the bus skidded and dropped roughly 30 meters into a valley that rescuers described as difficult to reach. Civil protection official José Canuto confirmed that several survivors sustained serious injuries.

“Major accidents of this magnitude are rare in Cape Verde.”

The government declared two days of national mourning beginning Sunday, a rare gesture in the Atlantic archipelago of about 550,000 people where major traffic accidents are uncommon. Roads across the islands are generally considered to be in good condition.

Rescue teams worked through the night to extract victims from the wreckage. The accident has shocked the nation, which lies roughly 5,000 kilometers off the West African coast and rarely experiences disasters of this scale.