Bus Plunges 30 Meters Into Ravine on Cape Verde's Fogo Island, Killing At Least 25 Including Schoolchildren

At least 25 people, most of them primary and secondary school students, were killed when a passenger bus went off a mountain road and fell roughly 30 meters into a steep ravine on the Cape Verdean island of Fogo, according to the national news agency Inforpress.

The crash happened late Saturday, September 5, on the Campanas de Cima route in northern Fogo, part of the archipelago nation off the coast of West Africa, Reuters reported. Fogo is one of the southernmost islands in the country.

According to Global Banking and Finance Review, citing Inforpress, 20 people died at the scene and five more died later at the hospital. The outlet reported the crash occurred specifically on the Chã das Caldeiras to Campanas de Cima stretch of road, terrain difficult enough that it delayed rescue crews reaching the wreckage.

Seven of the victims were buried before dawn because of the condition of their bodies, local health authorities told Inforpress. Several injured passengers, some described as in serious condition, were taken to São Francisco de Assis Regional Hospital on Fogo.

Education officials said the trip was not organized by any local school. It was an annual outing arranged privately by the bus driver, who was among those killed, Inforpress reported. The absence of school administration or district oversight meant there was no supervision of the route, the vehicle, or who was allowed on board.

Cape Verde president José Maria Pereira Neves called the crash "a great catastrophe" in a statement posted to Facebook. "I offer my condolences to the bereaved families, to the friends of the victims, and to the island of Fogo," he wrote, adding he wished a "speedy recovery to the injured." Neves traveled to Fogo on Sunday, and Global Banking and Finance Review reported the health minister was also set to visit.

The government declared two days of national mourning. Local authorities on Fogo separately declared municipal mourning, according to Global Banking and Finance Review, which also reported the local diocese expressed grief over the deaths, noting some victims were church catechists and choir members.

A mass funeral was held Sunday at São Lourenço Church in the town of São Lourenço, where 18 coffins were on display, according to images and reporting from The Independent. Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva spoke at the service, and relatives and residents were photographed carrying coffins of the dead.

Authorities had not determined a cause of the crash as of Sunday. No mechanical failure, speeding, or road-condition finding has been announced by Cape Verdean officials in any of the available reporting.

The Times of India and India Today both ran near-identical accounts based on the same Reuters wire dispatch, adding no independent details beyond what Inforpress reported. Coverage across outlets, including Internazionale's dual-language wire pickup, tracked closely to the same core Reuters reporting, meaning most of what's circulating internationally traces back to one original account out of Lisbon rather than separate on-the-ground verification.

Unanswered questions persist about why a privately arranged, driver-organized trip carrying dozens of children was operating on a known mountain road with no school oversight, and whether Cape Verdean regulators had any visibility into the vehicle's condition or the route beforehand. Cape Verde's government has not announced a formal investigation, safety review, or any charges connected to the crash. Fogo's diocese and local officials have so far focused public statements on mourning rather than accountability, and it is not yet clear whether that will change as the death toll and injury reports are finalized in the coming days.