They wanted to have dinner. More than 50 people boarded a bus on Wednesday in front of a hotel on the holiday island of Madeira. They did not get far, only about 250 meters.

Then the vehicle came off the road in a curve. The bus crashed down an embankment, overturned, crashed into a house and lay there. The accident took place around 6:30 pm in Caniço, east of Funchal. Funchal is the capital of Madeira.

The people are "flown through the windows," a witness will later say on Portuguese television. At least 29 people died, probably Germans. 27 others were injured.

The day after the accident, the wreck is gone. A gap gapes in the house, which stopped the crash of the vehicle. Many questions are open, especially about the cause of the accident - and the identity of the victims.

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Accident on Madeira: The accident in Caniço

Over the course of the day, there was evidence that the victims were mostly Germans. According to the German Press Agency, 27 Germans are probably among the 29 dead. The tour operator Trend Tours said, 51 of his guests were on board the bad luck bus. Schauinsland-Reisen reported that two of its guests were on the bus.

In a report of the WDR it is said, a majority of the victims come from North Rhine-Westphalia. Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) said that one had to assume that people from North Rhine-Westphalia had also been harmed. A few hours after the accident, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that according to his information, all the dead were Germans.

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The Federal Government makes so far no exact information. Shortly after the accident, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) had merely stated: "We have to assume that many Germans are among the victims". He left on Thursday with a team of doctors, psychologists and consular officials of the Foreign Office to Madeira. He visited the scene on the ground and thanked the Portuguese authorities for the "great cooperation in a very difficult time". The federal government is working "at full speed" to bring home the transportable injured, identify the victims and inform the relatives, said Maas.

Rafael Marchante / Reuters

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (3rd from right) and his Portuguese counterpart Augusto Santos Silva commemorate the victims

Chancellery Minister Helge Braun said that they wanted to inform the relatives first out of respect. Check to use an air force rescue aircraft. A "MedEvac" bus is provided. "If it makes sense and is possible to transport injured people with him here, then we will use it," said Braun.

There is only speculation about the cause of the accident so far. According to media reports, a mechanical problem could have been the reason - either a brake failure or a trapped accelerator pedal. The crashed bus was only five to six years old, the man at the wheel was considered experienced. The vice-president of the regional government, Pedro Calado, called any speculation about the cause of the accident "premature."

The Portuguese government ordered a three-day mourning until Saturday. Prime Minister António Costa condoled Chancellor Angela Merkel. He was dismayed and sent the Chancellor "in this difficult hour" his regret.