A 32-year-old Portuguese holidaymaker is dead and three others are critically injured after a nine-seater tourist bus plunged 15 metres into a ravine on the tiny Azorean island of Corvo yesterday (Monday) afternoon.
The accident happened as the bus – believed to have been carrying seven people including the driver – made its way to the Caldeirões viewpoint.
For reasons as yet unclear, the bus came off the road, hurtling into the ravine below and only coming to a stop when it hit a stone wall.
Two medical teams were dispatched to the island, as well as an Air Force helicopter.
According to local paper Açoriano Oriental, in all, three doctors, three nurses and four firemen attended the victims, all understood to be Portuguese.
The dead tourist was a woman, while one of the three critically injured was her 43-year-old partner. Injuries to the three other passengers were described as “light”, though for now there is no information as to where the victims are being treated. Two are believed to have come from Guimarães.
Corvo is the Azores’ smallest island with a population of only 400.
The bus was the property of vehicle hire company Carlos Reis.
