Madeira has begun three days of mourning for 29 German tourists who died after their bus veered off a steep road.
Portugal’s public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into the accident, whose cause authorities said they could not yet determine. Local TV channel SIC attributed it to either brake failure or a problem with the accelerator cable.
In Berlin, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said he would fly to Madeira on Thursday with a team of doctors, psychologists and consular officials to meet those affected and thank Portugal for its help.
“We have no certainty as yet as to how many Germans were among the victims.” he said in a statement, while Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed “sadness and shock” at the scale of the tragedy.
Authorities on the island confirmed all 29 people killed were German, of whom the country’s best-selling daily, Bild, said were 18 women and 11 men.
