Cape Verde Bus Crash: Children Among 25 Killed on Fogo Island

At least 25 people, many of them children and teenagers, have been reportedly killed in a devastating bus crash on Fogo Island in Cape Verde. The bus was said to be carrying 32 people, plunged about 30 metres into a ravine while returning to São Filipe after an excursion to Chã das Caldeiras, inside the crater of the Pico do Fogo volcano.

The crash happened very late on a mountainous road in northern Fogo after the bus veered off the road and fell into the steep ravine. Several survivors were taken to São Francisco de Assis Regional Hospital, with some reported to be critically injured, while rescue teams worked through difficult terrain to reach the wreckage.

Most of the people on board were primary and secondary school students, but officials clarified that the excursion was not organised by local schools. Instead, it was an annual trip privately arranged by the bus driver, who transports the pupils to school during the academic year and was also among those killed in the crash.

This tragedy has plunged Cape Verde into mourning, with President José Maria Neves calling the incident a “great catastrophe” and officials attending funerals for some of the victims. The São Filipe authorities have announced a period of mourning as the island continues to deal with one of its worst recent tragedies.