AT LEAST 25 people have been killed after a bus carrying schoolchildren plunged down a 100ft ravine.

Rescuers raced to the crash site in the Brit holiday hotspot and managed to pull several seriously injured passengers from the wreckage before taking them to hospital.

Harrowing photos show the bus smashed at the bottom of the ravine in Cape Verde

Rescuers are struggling to climb down the steep impasse

The deadly crash unfolded at around 9pm local time on the volcanic island of Fogo in Cape Verde.

Officials said the schoolbus had been travelling along a cliffside road with sharp bends when it careened off the edge on Saturday.

The bus “was carrying students on an outing” between Cha das Caldeiras and Campanas de Cima according to the local Sao Filipe Municipal Council.

Last night, the initial death toll stood at 18 but the number has since risen to 25, according to officials.

Most of those on the bus were secondary school children from Curral Grande and Ponta Verde.

Rescue teams are still working at the crash site but have been struggling to climb down the rocky ravine – making it difficult to pull out survivors.

Around a dozen people have been rushed to São Francisco de Assis Regional Hospital with four said to be in “serious condition”.

The number of victims has almost overwhelmed the hospital – with every single staff member and an additional private doctor working to treat the survivors.

The outing had been organised by the bus driver – who was among those killed in the crash – according to the São Filipe education minister, José Pedro Gonçalves.

Tragically, the trip was an annual tradition betwen the bus driver and the kids he transported to school every day, usually at the start of the summer holidays or to mark the beginning of the new school year.

One local paper said the trip was part of a religious festival honouring Our Lady of Light – which has since been cancelled to mourn the victims of the tragedy.

The council made a heartbreaking statement on social media last night, writing: “At this moment of immense pain, there are no words that can ease the anguish of those who have lost a loved one or of those who are following this tragedy with suffering.

“Even so, it is the Municipality’s duty to express its most sincere condolences and to guarantee its full availability to provide all necessary support.

“Today, the sadness belongs to every family, but also to our entire community, which comes together in mourning, solidarity and prayer.”

The council has declared two days of official mourning for the victims.

Police have launched a probe into the cause of the horror crash.

It follows just days after another deadly bus crash in a Brit holiday hotspot.

At least 22 people were killed and a further 28 injured after a coach flipped over in Egypt.

Paramedics raced to the scene of the horror on Dahab-Nuweibaa road to find that 16 people had died on impact.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/16955561/bus-plunges-ravine-killing-school-children/