On Portuguese Island of Madeira, a tourist bus overturned, and about 28 people have been dead, and 27 people injured as per reports. There are photos published by Portuguese media in which white bus surrounded by firefighters on its side could be seen. As per SIC Television, there were about 19 ambulances at the site following the accident which occurred at 5.30pm GMT. As per the locals, the weather was fine at the time of the accident which occurred in daylight. It is also not clear that the fatalities were restricted to passengers or not. Also, authorities are investigating the possible cause of this major accident.
As per the reports, the coach is carrying about 55 passengers when it veered off the road on a bend before rolling downward via a steep hillside. Also, the driver, as well as Portuguese guide, reportedly survived the accident. All wounded people were taken to hospital in Funchal. On the other hand, Germany’s foreign ministry confirmed that its embassy in Portugal’s capital Lisbon was in continuous contact with the local authorities. Steffen Seibert said that government has also settled up a telephone hotline for people who are very much worried about their family members.
According to the mayor of Caniço, a coastal town in the south of the Island Filipe Sousa told SIC that ‘I cannot describe what happened as I have no words for this. I cannot face the suffering of the people who were there. There were 17 women as well as 11 men in total.
Antonio Costa, Portuguese prime minister, tweeted that he had sent his condolences to the German chancellor, Angela Merkel. He added that ‘I learned of this disastrous accident in Madeira with deep grief.’ On the other hand, a spokeswoman for the hospital told German newspaper Bild that ‘we at present have our hands full as we have many wounded people from bus accident here. They were taken up by the ambulances from Santa Cruz, and several of them were very badly injured.’
Steffen Seibert, Merkel’s spokesman also alleged that ‘shocking news is reaching us from Madeira. ‘We are in deepest sorrow for all those people who lost their lives in this horrifying bus crash. Our thoughts are with the wounded people.’ UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman also confirms that ‘we are searching for details from authorities in Portugal regarding this major crash. We are also ready to support British people who need help’.
Madeira is a well-known tourist destination and has a peak season during summer; it also attracts many tourists around Easter.
