A passenger bus crash on Fogo Island in Cape Verde killed at least 25 people on Saturday in the school bus crash in Cape Verde. Most of the dead were teenagers, and several other people were injured after the vehicle went down the Campanas de Cima route in a mountainous area.
José Maria Pereira Neves called the accident "a great catastrophe" in a statement on his Facebook page. Seven bodies were immediately buried because of their condition, according to local media citing the island's health authorities.
Fogo Island route
The crash hit a route that runs through a mountainous part of Fogo Island, turning a local transport run into a mass-casualty event with at least 25 dead. The scale of the deaths matters for families on the island because the victims were described mostly as teenagers, not older adults.
That age profile leaves households and communities facing an abrupt loss of young people at the same time. The burial of seven bodies shows how quickly the aftermath moved from rescue to emergency handling of the dead.
José Maria Pereira Neves response
José Maria Pereira Neves moved first with a public statement and then with plans to visit Fogo Island on Sunday along with some other officials. That trip puts the government response on the island itself rather than leaving the aftermath to reports from PRAIA.
The accident caused mass casualties, but authorities had not determined the cause. That gap is now the most important practical question for passengers and families who use the route, because the crash involved a passenger bus on a mountain road and left several people injured as well as at least 25 dead.
Campanas de Cima questions
What caused the passenger bus to crash on the Campanas de Cima route is the unresolved issue that hangs over the whole event. For people on Fogo Island, the immediate facts are already severe: at least 25 dead, most of them teenagers, and seven bodies buried because of their condition.
