Via do Infante coach smash leaves three Dutch tourists dead

Three Dutch tourists died last night as their transfer coach plunged from the Via do Infante motorway onto the road below near the Paderne exit.

Two women and one man were confirmed dead as emergency services arrived to help the 31 passengers who were wounded, eight of them seriously.

According to reports in today’s De Telegraaf, most of the tourists were asleep when the accident occurred at 23.05 on Wednesday night, but many of those that were awake shouted and screamed at the driver to "stay on the road," but to no avail as the coach drove through the crash barriers and ended up on its side, dropping seven metres onto the minor road below.

The Frota Azul bus had 34 aboard. The Dutch tourists were being transferred from Faro airport via Armaçao and Praia da Rocha, to Lagos.

An emergency field hospital was set up to cater for the number of victims in need of help before being transferred to Basic Emergency Services units in Albufeira, or to Faro and Portimão hospitals by road. One of the seriously injured was flown by helicopter to Lisbon.

According to a management source from the Hospital of the Algarve group, eleven of those injured were admitted to hospital, three in critical condition and eight in non-critical condition, but seriously injured.

The bus driver also was seriously injured but is able to start helping police with their inquiries now that he has been released.

The tourists had arrived from Amsterdam on a Arke Airlines flight carrying TUI customers whose representative Van Haelemeesch today told reporters at Faro hospital that TUI "was impressed with how the emergency facilities were made available last night, the efficient way they have been managed, and the efficient way people were admitted to the hospitals.

“It is comforting for us and for our customers to know that if something sad happens, at least we can rely on a good emergency system."

The spokesman said that "TUI will assume its responsibilities and serve customers in the best way possible" and that, in the Netherlands, "there is a crisis team in touch with families, along with an International Relations Office, and there is a company specialising in psychological help available to families. "

"If people in the Netherlands want to travel here to meet with their family, we have tailor-made solutions, this is something that we can facilitate" added Van Haelemeesch.

The Via do Infante remained closed to traffic until the early hours.

The coach is owned by Frota Azul, one of the transport companies owned by Humberto Pedrosa, the president of Barraqueiro Transportes SA and the recent co-owner of Gateway which successfully bid for state airline TAP.

Carlos Osório Gomes, in charge of Frota Azul in the Algarve, said the 53-year-old driver had worked for the company for 25 years and had never before been involved in an accident while at work.

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