A pensioner died and his widow was injured along with 26 other people after a bus carrying British tourists veered off a mountain road in La Gomera,Canary Islands.
The crash happened near the municipality of San Sebastián de La Gomera on the island of La Gomera yesterday during the final days of Easter half term.
Regional health chiefs said late yesterday the unnamed woman remained at the state hospital.
She is one of 27 people injured after the tragedy on the winding road,which has claimed lives before.
Emergency staff is present at the site where a bus carrying 27 British tourists fell off a road near San Sebastian de La Gomera (Picture: EPA)
Expert psychologists are said to be assisting the British holidaymaker,believed to have been sitting beside her partner when the packed bus came off the road on a bend around 1.15pm yesterday and plunged 100ft down a ravine,by helping her come to terms with her loss.
The tourist bus crashed off a road on a mountainside on the island of La Gomera (Picture: X/@112canarias)Three children are said to have been among the passengers.Tour operator Holiday Property Bond said: ‘The Holiday Property Bond is aware of a serious coach incident on the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands today involving some of our Bondholders and guests.‘The coach was transferring holidaymakers to the airport,to return home.‘Our immediate focus is on the safety and wellbeing of everyone affected. We recognise this is an extremely distressing situation for those involved,as well as for their families and loved ones,and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.’The bus driver told the police the brakes weren’t working when he was going downhill,and he tried to stop the vehicle by veering onto a dirt track.It came off a narrow mountain road at a hairpin bend with rocky terrain below.Tourists who visit the area say using the roads ‘is like taking your life in your hands’ travelling from one side of San Sebastian to another.A receptionist at El Balcon de Santa Ana at the resort in Playa de Santiago said: ‘They had left the hotel to head to Tenerife on the ferry. They were all British.’
The bus veered off the winding road and overturned (Picture: Solarpix)Footage from the scene shows the tourist bus landed on its side several yards from the windy GM-2 road.Several ambulances and medical staff from a nearby health centre were also deployed to the scene,according to 112 Canarias.Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a post on X: ‘My thoughts are with those affected by the tragic incident involving a bus carrying British holidaymakers in the Canary Islands.’Fernando Clavijo,the president of the Canary Islands,sent his support and thoughts to the victims and their families in an X post.Most of the GM-2 road,one of the two main roads in and out of San Sebastián de La Gomera known for its black volcanic beaches and the lush National Park of Garajonay.A woman died and 10 others were injured when a local bus plunged down the cliffs and overturned near the same spot in May last year.La Gomera is known for its majestic ravines and mountains,and a more peaceful atmosphere compared to the bigger Tenerife and Gran Canaria.Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at . Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.For more stories like this,check our news page.
© OfficialAffairs
