At least 28 people were killed in the crash of a tourist bus on the Portuguese island of Madeira, local authorities said. The regional civil protection service refused to confirm this progress report to several local media by the mayor of the municipality of Santa Cruz where the accident occurred, Filipe Sousa.
Miguel Albuquerque, President of the Regional Government, sent his condolences to the families of the victims of this accident, stating that there were "several foreigners" among them. According to some local media, bus passengers are mostly German tourists.
The bus driver would have lost control of the vehicle. According to the images broadcast by Portuguese television, the bus carrying about fifty passengers left the road, making several barrels. The accident occurred at 18H30 local (17H30 GMT) and reportedly 21 injuries, still according to the Mayor of Santa Cruz.
For reasons still to be clarified, the bus driver would have lost control of the vehicle, which left the road before falling on a house built on a hillside. In Lisbon, the President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced that he would go to Madeira in the night.