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25 Dead, Most of Them Children, After Bus Plunges Into Ravine on Cape Verde’s Fogo Island
The Crash
At least 25 people were killed Saturday night when a bus veered off a mountain road on Fogo Island, Cape Verde, and plunged roughly 30 meters into a steep, rocky ravine. Most of the dead were children and teenagers. The crash occurred late in the evening on a winding road in the northern part of the island. Thirty-two people were on board.
Twenty people died at the scene. Five more died overnight at São Francisco de Assis Regional Hospital on Fogo, where injured survivors were taken for treatment. The driver, who organized the trip himself, was among the dead. Seven victims were buried on Sunday morning due to the severity of their injuries. The remaining victims were to be buried later the same day.
Who Was on the Bus
The passengers were primarily primary and secondary school students from the Curral Grande and Ponta Verde areas of the island. They were returning from an excursion to Pico do Fogo — the island’s active volcano and one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Cape Verde archipelago — after a full day at the crater.
Cape Verde’s Ministry of Education clarified that the trip was not organized by any school. The driver, who transported many of the students to and from school during the regular academic year, had arranged the annual outing independently as a gesture for the children he drove each day. It was a trip he organized every year as a personal gift to his students.
The Rescue Operation
The terrain made reaching the crash site extremely difficult. The ravine is steep and rocky, and accessible only through a narrow and difficult stretch of mountain landscape. Emergency personnel worked through the night trying to reach victims trapped inside the wreckage. Some passengers were thrown clear of the bus on impact. Others remained inside. The hours-long operation continued into Sunday morning before rescuers were able to account for all those on board.
The National Response
Cape Verde President José Maria Pereira Neves called the accident a great catastrophe in a public statement. He and other senior government officials traveled to Fogo on Sunday to meet with families and oversee the response. The country declared two days of national mourning following the crash.
São Filipe Mayor Nuías Silva confirmed the death toll and described the loss as devastating for the entire island community. The São Filipe Municipal Council issued a statement of condolence to the families of the victims, the island’s teachers, and the broader educational community.
About Fogo
Fogo is one of ten islands that make up Cape Verde, an island nation located several hundred miles off the coast of West Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. The island is defined by its dramatic volcanic landscape and is best known for Pico do Fogo, whose slopes attract hikers and visitors from around the world. The mountain roads that wind through that terrain are steep and narrow in many sections, making them particularly unforgiving when things go wrong.
