Several tourists have died on the Portuguese island of Madeira in bus crash, 17 April 2019

[gregjrichards]

Several people have died after a tourist bus overturned on the Portuguese island of Madeira.

Local media on the island reported that around 50 people were onboard at the time of the crash - with most of them believed to be tourists.

The bus careered off the road and crashed onto the top of a house this afternoon after the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle on a bend.

One paper in Madeira quoted sources at the scene as saying there could be 'more than a dozen' dead although there is no official confirmation.

Around 50 people are thought to have been travelling on the coach.

'Several people are killed' as tourist bus overturns on Madeira | Daily Mail Online

Very sad news indeed. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected.

 

[dotr]

28 people dead after tourist coach crashes on Portuguese island
"Twenty-eight people have died after a tourist bus crashed and overturned on the island of Madeira.

Portugal's SIC channel reported most of the victims were German nationals.

Mayor Filipe Sousa said: "I have no words to describe what happened.

"I cannot face the suffering of these people."

The scene of the crash on Wednesday (EPA)
The bus is said to have lost control before it fell on top of a house on Wednesday evening."

 

[gregjrichards]

At least 28 people are reported to have died after a coach carrying more than 50 passengers crashed on the Portuguese holiday island of Madeira.

The coach is understood to have been full of German tourists when it careered off the road and smashed onto the top of a house this afternoon at 6.30pm local time.

'28 dead' after tourist coach veers off road and smashes into house in Madeira

 

[gregjrichards]

28 people dead after tourist coach crashes on Portuguese island
"Twenty-eight people have died after a tourist bus crashed and overturned on the island of Madeira.

Portugal's SIC channel reported most of the victims were German nationals.

Mayor Filipe Sousa said: "I have no words to describe what happened.

"I cannot face the suffering of these people."

The scene of the crash on Wednesday (EPA)
The bus is said to have lost control before it fell on top of a house on Wednesday evening."

I am shocked at the death toll what a terrible, horrendous tragedy. The road looks very narrow and treacherous for a large coach like that.

May all the victims Rest In Peace.

 

[claudianunes]

SIC Notícias also advanced that, after all, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa won't travel to Madeira tonight, since the Armed Forces aircrafts may have to be used for the eventual transport of the injured victims to hospitals in the mainland.

Em direto/ Acidente com autocarro turístico na Madeira. Autarca confirma 28 vítimas mortais

 

[claudianunes]

CCTV footage of the accident.

 

[Elainera]

One more person died on the way or in the hospital.

At least 29 dead in Madeira bus crash

They were most likely all on an Easter vacation

 

[Elainera]

According to this latest German article the driver is injured but survived. So hopefully he can tell what happened.

Reisebus auf Madeira verunglückt: 29 Tote - offenbar alles Deutsche

Also says most if not all deceased are German.

 

[claudianunes]

According to this latest German article the driver is injured but survived. So hopefully he can tell what happened.

Reisebus auf Madeira verunglückt: 29 Tote - offenbar alles Deutsche

Also says most if not all deceased are German.

The driver was NOT under the influence. It was a terrible accident. Seems like the brakes weren't working.

Rita Castro, a driver who was behind the bus at the time of the accident, recalled the driver's attempts to avoid crashing the bus. Speaking to CMTV and TVI 24, Rita Castro explained that she was able to perceive that the driver "tried to stop the bus on the walls", without success - the bus bumpers ended up inside a house in which it crashed. "I can imagine the [driver's] horror," she said.

Em direto/ Madeira. Motorista tentou travar o autocarro desgovernado conduzindo-o contra os muros das casas

 

[Elainera]

Eyewitness reports: "People were flying around"

A German couple who survived the accident, has spoken with several Portuguese television stations about the moment of the accident. "I think the brakes did not work," said the husband to the station SIC. "We drove off and after a few seconds we got faster and faster. We crashed into a wall. The bus went out of control. "

"The people were flying around," the wife told TVI. "Out the window, through the window ..." Her husband added, "Some people called for help, but not very loud. There was a lot of silence. "

The couple survived because they instinctively leaned forward at the moment of impact. "Like on a plane," the woman told the station SIC. "That was our luck." The woman had a slight injury in the neck area, the man had a broken rib. "But that's not important," the woman said. "We are alive, we are together."

Deutsche Überlebende erzählen vom Moment des Unglücks: „Die Leute flogen herum“

 

[Elainera]

Article in focus.de says 27 Germans are among the 29 dead.

Seems either the brakes malfunctioned or the gas pedal was stuck. The driver tried to drive along a wall to slow the bus down, to no avail.

Fotos of the damaged wall and the house the bus came to rest on.



„Ein schauriger Anblick“: Wie Urlauber das Unglück auf Madeira erlebten