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At least five Italians killed in Madeira bus crash
December 23, 2005

FUNCHAL, Portugal (Reuters) - At least five Italian tourists died when their bus crashed on the Portuguese island of Madeira on Friday, authorities said.

Two other people among the 50 aboard were seriously hurt with a total of 14 remaining in hospital, said Manuel Brito, director of Funchal hospital.

Earlier an official had told Reuters six people had died.

The accident happened as the bus reached a roundabout and crashed into a wall.

"The magnitude of the accident determined that the driver be held for questioning by the public prosecutor," Madeira's regional police superintendent Pinto do Carmo told journalists.

The Italians were visiting Madeira on a cruise liner which was to have left the island for southern Spain on Friday afternoon.

Reuters

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Very sad....However, I wonder how long it'll take before some Government agency starts a big brouhaha about the safety of cruise lines activities....

Horrible tragedy for the families of the departed, at this time of the year.....

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Bus accident on island of Madeira, at least 5 tourists dead
December 23, 2005

Lisbon -- A corner maybe taken too fast, a drunk driver and the Christmas holiday dreamt all year, is transformed into a tragedy: a bus which was carrying about 50 Italians that had just finished an excursion to one of the prettiest locations on Madeira, overturned. The bus driver is under arrest in the Funchal hospital. According to hospital sources, the amount of alcohol in his blood was way above permitted levels, equal to about 4%.

The toll for the moment is five dead and scores of injured, of which two serious, but it’s not excluded the number of victims could be higher. The accident happened around 3:00pm, when the bus was making its way back to the island’s port. The passengers were on a cruise on COSTA CLASSICA, one of Costa Crociere’s ships, and were to leave at 5:00pm today for Malaga, second last call before returning to Savona from where they embarked on December 17th. An 11-day cruise for Spain and Portugal crowded with Italians, which were the majority of the over 1600 passengers. The tourists onboard the bus involved in the accident had left in early morning together with another 100 or so Italians, from the port of Funchal and going to Sao Vincente.

An excursion to admire from atop the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean and the luxuriant vegetation of the Portuguese island. The morning passed without trouble and after having travelled a long and tortuous mountain road the group of Italians stopped for lunch at Sao Vincente. At 2:30pm the three buses started to make their return leg. According to eyewitness accounts it seems the bus driver was drunk, with some maintaining he was inebriated from the morning, and was going too fast. Thus, at the start of a bend before a tunnel, he lost control of the vehicle. After colliding with a retaining wall the bus, first contorted and then subsequently went over. “Two minutes before the accident happened, the man next to me said to write out a will, that the driver was driving like a maniac”, explained doctor Sante Palminteri, who received several abrasions in the accident.

“After eating his lunch, that madman took off like a rocket and was travelling at 70-80kph” added Angelo Poma, also lightly injured. The passengers of the other buses that followed did not immediately realize what had happened, so they didn’t stop and that only when onboard COSTA CLASSICA did they know about the deaths. The injured were taken to the Funchal hospital. The hospital director, Miguel Brito, said that 43 people were admitted.

“Two people, a woman and a child, are presently in CPR - confirms the hospital director – while another two injured should be undergoing surgery but their conditions are stable”. Regarding the slightly injured, the doctor continued, they should leave the hospital today. Several have already returned aboard the ship after being medicated. The number of victims is still not clear. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is talking about five Italians dead while several witnesses are saying up to seven, of which two are children. Immediately after the accident the master of COSTA CLASSICA, Mauro Muratori, left the ship for the scene of the accident, while onboard staff of Costa Crociere tried to keep at bay the hundreds of passengers who had congregated in the hall wanting to know information on relatives and friends involved in the accident.

“We can’t say anything – explained officer Jorge Castillo – we are not authorized to do so”. Both the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Costa Crociere have activated emergency phone numbers, at the disposal of those that want information on persons involved in the accident.

COSTA CLASSICA is now halted in the port of Funchal: the second in command announced that the departure for Malaga has been deferred to 11:00pm, but most probably she’ll remain in Madeira at least until tomorrow. The 1600 onboard would have spent Christmas eve at Malaga, singing and dancing at the rhythm of flamenco. Instead they’ll pass their time hearing the stories of those that survived and to mourn those departed.

ANSA

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A truly sad moment for those that looked so much forward to this Christmas cruise. Yes, our hearfelt thoughts go out to all those people that have lost loved ones. Our prayers are with you.

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Originally posted by Frosty 4:
The 4X4 excursions can be quite unsettling to say the least. eg. Bora Bora Mountain Safari. This was a wild ride. With drop offs on the edges of the road. Scarey!!!

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I'm sure it is!

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Fatal shorex accident under investigation
December 30, 2005

The shore excursion bus accident that killed five Costa Classica passengers in Funchal last week is under investigation by Portuguese authorities. Five other passengers who were on board the bus that went off the road in Madeira on Dec. 23 are still hospitalised in the Portuguese island.

According to local reports, the bus driver failed an initial breathalyser test and his blood sample was sent to Lisbon for further examination. The Costa ship returned to its homeport in Savona and has since left for a New Year’s cruise.

Costa Crociere is refunding the full cost of the cruise to those who were on board the bus and also paying for the journey to Madeira for relatives of those passengers who died or were injured in the incident. So far Costa declines to accept legal responsibility for the incident.

‘We have to wait for the completion of the investigation from the local police. There are at least three insurance companies involved and Costa has created a team of three people to assist passengers with their legal claims,’ a spokesperson told Seatrade Insider.

Seatrade Insider

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