Cape Verde mourns 25 killed in Fogo bus crash

Cape Verde's government announced two days of mourning on Sunday after 25 people, mostly children and teenagers, were killed in a bus crash on Fogo Island.

Officials said the bus veered off the road and plunged into a deep ravine late on Saturday after an excursion to a village inside a volcanic crater. The dead included the bus driver, who organised the yearly excursion as a present for pupils he drove to school during term time.

Prime Minister Francisco Carvalho told public television station TCV that he had ordered two days of mourning and promised further measures. President Jose Maria Neves said he would order an inquiry into the circumstances of the accident.

Cape Verde's leaders joined a Mass on Sunday at a local church on Fogo, where 18 coffins were on display. Emergency personnel worked through the night to rescue victims trapped in the wreckage in a remote, rocky valley.

Public radio network RCV said seven victims were buried early on Sunday and the rest were expected to be buried later in the day.

Dionisio Semedo, a doctor at the regional hospital on Fogo, told public TV that 12 people were still receiving treatment, two of them in serious condition. He said bodies and injured people began arriving at the hospital late Saturday night.

Road accidents are rare in Cape Verde, where roads are generally in good condition.