At least 29 people, most of them German tourists, were killed and 27 others injured Wednesday when their bus veered off a steep narrow road on the Portuguese island of Madeira, authorities said.

 

The white tourist bus, which was carrying 55 passengers and a tour guide in addition to the driver, overturned in a residential area in the coastal town of Canico around 6:30 p.m. (1730 GMT), its mayor, Filipe Sousa, told reporters.

 

TV images showed the vehicle on its side on a bank next to a small road and surrounded by rescuers.

 

The driver reportedly lost control of the bus on a sloping road and the vehicle plunged down, overturning next to a house, according Portuguese news agency Lusa.

 

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

 

He said the tourists on the bus were all German but some pedestrians might have been hit by tAt least 29 people, most of them German tourists, were killed and 27 others injured Wednesday when their bus veered off a steep narrow road on the Portuguese island of Madeira, authorities said.

 

The white tourist bus, which was carrying 55 passengers and a tour guide in addition to the driver, overturned in a residential area in the coastal town of Canico around 6:30 p.m. (1730 GMT), its mayor, Filipe Sousa, told reporters.

 

TV images showed the vehicle on its side on a bank next to a small road and surrounded by rescuers.

 

The driver reportedly lost control of the bus on a sloping road and the vehicle plunged down, overturning next to a house, according Portuguese news agency Lusa.

 

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

 

He said the tourists on the bus were all German but some pedestrians might have been hit by the bus.

Germany’s Bild daily reported that many of the tourists were retirees, and those killed included 18 women and 11 men.

 

The German foreign ministry had set up a hotline and embassy staff were in close touch with local officials about the accident, a spokeswoman said.

 

Other members of the same group of German tourists were traveling on another bus, which was not involved in the accident, a regional civil protection spokesman told a news conference.

 

Those injured were taken to a hospital in Funchal, the capital city of Madeira.

 

From the 28 injured initially taken to the hospital, one German tourist did not survive the injuries, bringing the death toll to 29, a hospital spokesman told a news conference Wednesday evening.

 

Three of the injured underwent surgery, 23 were under observation and two were discharged. There were no children among the victims, the hospital confirmed, adding that two of the injured are from Portugal while the others are foreign nationals.