Ten dead, 33 injured in Portugal after bus careers off cliff

Ten people died and 33 were injured in a traffic accident in Portugal Sunday morning.

The bus they were traveling in, which had Spanish license plates, veered off the road at around 8.30am near Sertã, in the northwestern province of Castelo Branco. The coach went over the edge and slid several dozen meters down a cliff into a ravine.

There were 44 passengers on the bus, which was taking them on a day trip in the area. The mayor of Sertã told Portuguese television that this portion of the road is undergoing construction work and that there was another accident in the same spot only last week.

A Civil Protection spokesman said it was still early to know the exact cause of the accident, but noted that the previous night’s rainfall and the morning fog very likely played a role.

All the injured passengers, including a number of children, were taken to nearby hospitals in Coimbra and Castelo Branco. Nearly 200 people participated in the rescue operation, with air support from two helicopters.

At first the Portuguese media talked about the likelihood of the victims being Spanish, because of the license plates, but by noon the Civil Protection spokesman confirmed that all of them, including the driver, were Portuguese.