Portugal hit by new bus disaster

The bus plunged into a ravine

Portugal's second serious bus accident in less than a month has left at least 14 people dead and more than 20 injured.

The bus swerved off a wet road and plunged into a 30 metre (100 feet) deep ravine near Santa Comba Dao, a rural town about 200 km (120 miles) north of the capital, Lisbon.

The driver failed to turn to the right as he should have done, he carried straight on and over the edge

Major Antonio Rosas, National Guard

It stopped just short of the waters of the river Dao at the bottom of the valley.

The passengers of the bus, which was owned by Viseu city council, were returning from a trip to Fatima, where there is a famous shrine to the Virgin Mary.

More than 150 fire officers went to the scene of the accident. The injured are being treated in local hospitals, and at least six of them are reported to be in a critical condition.

The stretch of motorway where the accident occurred has a bad reputation. People in the area have complained to the authorities about the number of accidents caused by the tight bends in wet weather.

Bad roads

Local residents had held a protest on Friday urging the government to improve the road, known by some as the "motorway of death".

National Guard Major Antonio Rosas said: "It's a very dangerous road and it was raining very hard.

"The driver failed to turn to the right as he should have done, he carried straight on and over the edge."

State news agency Lusa said nine people had already died on the same stretch of road this year before Saturday's accident.

The disaster comes just weeks after a double-decker bus carrying 67 people plunged into the river Douro, also in northern Portugal, when a bridge collapsed.

So far rescue workers have only found 16 of the bodies, seven of which were washed up on the coast of Spain's neighbouring Galicia region.

The disaster led to the resignation of the public works minister and sparked criticism of the state of the region's bridges and roads.

Drivers' groups have asked the president to intervene to put an end to "the horror" experienced on Portugal's motorways.