After the bus accident on Madeira, the Bundeswehr has begun to bring the injured Germans back to their homeland. A medically equipped special aircraft took off on Saturday afternoon from the Cristiano Ronaldo airport on the Portuguese island. On board were 15 injured Germans, said a spokesman for the Air Force AFP. They should now be treated further in Germany.
The Luftwaffe's "MedEvac" airbus left from Cologne-Wahn Airport for Madeira on Saturday morning to pick up the injured. According to employees of the clinic in the island capital Funchal, an injured German had already returned to Germany on Friday evening.
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Accident on Madeira: The accident in CaniçoA German is not yet transportable and must first in the clinic. Nélio Mendonça stay in Funchal, Portuguese media quoted the authorities. For "medical reasons" she has no permission for the journey home. The driver of the bus and the tour guide, both Portuguese, are therefore in the hospital.
According to Portuguese sources, 29 people were killed and 27 injured in the accident on Wednesday evening. The tourists wanted to go Wednesday from the hotel Quinta Splendida located in the east of the island capital town of Caniço for a traditional dinner to Funchal. Her bus drove down a gently sloping road and came off the lane in a bend just 250 yards from the hotel. The bus crashed several meters deep and hit a house.
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The exact cause of the accident is not yet known. The Portuguese TV channel "TV RTP" reported Friday that the gas pedal could have been blocked and the driver tried to stop the bus, which was accelerating, by hitting a wall. A German survivor of the accident had previously suspected brake failure. The local prosecutor began investigations.
From German side so far no victim number was called - that should happen only after conclusion of the identification. The bodies will also be brought to Germany in the next few days.