Guinea-Bissau Condolences After Cape Verde Bus Crash kills 25
Guinea-Bissau’s Transitional Prime Minister, Ilídio Vieira Té, has extended a message of deep sympathy to Cape Verde following a devastating bus crash on the island of Fogo that claimed at least 25 lives, most of them children and young people.
A Tragedy Shared Across Borders
In an official letter addressed to Cape Verdean Prime Minister Francisco Tavares, Vieira Té expressed his “deep consternation” over the accident. The tragedy occurred on Saturday night when a bus carrying students home from a field trip veered off the road and plunged 30 meters down an embankment in the locality of Campanas de Cima.
“In this moment of pain and mourning, I offer, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, my deepest condolences to the Government and the brotherly people of Cape Verde,” the letter stated. Vieira Té emphasized that the two nations are bound by “historical bonds of fraternity, friendship, and common destiny,” noting that the scale of the tragedy has touched the Bissau-Guinean people deeply.
The Prime Minister also sent a message of solidarity to the grieving families and wished for a “speedy and complete recovery” for the dozens of survivors injured in the fall.
Diplomatic Tensions Linger
This gesture of humanitarian solidarity comes during a period of significant diplomatic friction between the two West African nations. Relations were strained in July when Guinea-Bissau’s National Transition Council (CNT) announced a “practical freeze” on political ties with Cape Verde.
The diplomatic rift was sparked by Cape Verde’s public demand for the release of Bissau-Guinean opposition leader and elected parliament president Domingos Simões Pereira, who remains detained by a military court. The CNT, which assumed power following a coup last November, characterized Cape Verde’s appeal as an unacceptable “interference in national sovereignty.”
Despite these political disputes, the magnitude of the Fogo island disaster has prompted a moment of shared mourning. Local authorities in Cape Verde are still investigating the cause of the crash, which has left the archipelago nation in a state of shock.
Note: The Lusa news agency delegation in Guinea-Bissau has been suspended since August 2025 following the expulsion of Portuguese media representatives. This report was compiled remotely.
Image: Pexels – Nico Marín
