A British man has died and 27 people are in hospital after a bus carrying tourists overturned in a ravine on the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands, local officials have confirmed.
The accident occurred at 1.15pm local time on Friday when the vehicle left the GM-2 highway near San Sebastián de La Gomera. The bus was transporting a British group for a boat excursion, according to local media. Four of the injured were initially reported to be in critical condition.
Emergency services attended to the 28 occupants, including 27 British tourists and the driver. Officials stated that one man died, and 27 others suffered injuries of varying severity, three of them serious. The most critically injured passenger was transferred to a hospital on the neighbouring island of Tenerife, while the rest were treated at Hospital Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in La Gomera.
Fernando Clavijo, president of the Canary Islands, expressed his support for the victims and their families, noting that emergency teams were at the scene. The British embassy in Madrid said it was in contact with local authorities and ready to assist British nationals affected by the incident.
Spanish police have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash, which has not yet been established. Last year, a similar accident on the same road resulted in one death and ten injuries. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper offered her condolences, stating that the Foreign Office was prepared to support those involved.
