Madeira crash: At least 28 killed on tourist bus near Caniço

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The bus came to rest near houses after plunging off a road

A bus carrying German tourists has plunged off a road and overturned on the Portuguese island of Madeira leaving 28 people dead.

Another 22 were injured in the accident near the town of Caniço, according to national news agency Lusa.

The accident happened at 18:30 (17:30 GMT) when the driver lost control of the bus at a junction and went off the road, reports said.

Portuguese media showed the overturned vehicle had come to rest near houses.

“I have no words to describe what happened. I cannot face the suffering of these people,” local Mayor Filipe Sousa told broadcaster SIC TV.

He said all the tourists on the bus were German but it was not clear if the fatalities occurred only in the bus.

The scene of the crash has been sealed off and the injured transferred to a hospital in the capital, Funchal, Lusa said.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is flying to the island to visit the scene, the agency added.

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Madeira was the scene of another fatal bus crash in 2005 when five Italian tourists died in São Vicente, on the northern coast.