On 17 April 2019, a tour bus carrying 56 people—mostly tourists from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

—crashed in Caniço in

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. At least 29 people were killed—18 women and 11 men—and 27 more were injured, including the Portuguese driver and

tourist guide A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, religio ...

. The crash took place around 18:30 local time, with the bus veering off a hilly road and tumbling down an embankment, coming to rest atop a house. The crash overwhelmed nearby hospitals and required 19 ambulances to transport the injured passengers. Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa sent condolences to German chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...

, while Portuguese President

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa (; born 12 December 1948) is a Portuguese politician and academic. He is the 20th and current president of Portugal, since 9 March 2016. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, though he suspended hi ...

announced plans to visit the site of the crash. German foreign minister

Heiko Maas Heiko Josef Maas (; born 19 September 1966) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs (2018–2021) and as the Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protectio ...

travelled to Madeira on 18 April in response to the incident, accompanied by doctors, psychologists and consular officials. He said work was underway to bring injured victims home and identify the dead. The Portuguese Government decreed the three days following the tragedy (18, 19, and 20 April 2019) to be

national days of mourning A national day of mourning is a day or days marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of ...

References

{{reflist 2019 in Portugal 2019 road incidents Bus incidents in Portugal April 2019 events in Portugal History of Madeira