The President of the Republic said he was monitoring the situation of the Portuguese involved in a bus accident in the Namibian desert on Wednesday afternoon, in which at least two Portuguese nationals died.
In a statement released by the Presidency on Wednesday evening, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa offered “heartfelt condolences, at this time of mourning” to the families of the victims.
The head of state also said that he hoped for the “speedy recovery” of the Portuguese injured in the accident.
The Portuguese community councillor in the capital Windhoek confirmed to Lusa that the accident occurred after 15:00 (14:00 in Lisbon), in the Kuiseb Valley, on the way to the largest sand dunes of Sossus Vley in the Namibian desert.
The accident involved two buses carrying 40 tourists, at least 22 of whom were Portuguese, said Manuel Coelho.
“There was an accident between two buses and apparently a third vehicle in a place where there is no internet network, the information is precarious,” said the councillor.
“A bus was carrying 22 Portuguese citizens, two of whom died on the spot,” added Manuel Coelho.
“A third person died on the way to hospital in Walvis Bay, the nearest town, but we don’t know the nationality of the latter at the moment,” said the councillor.
The Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities José Cesário had previously told Lusa that people of various nationalities were involved in the accident and that the group of Portuguese tourists, from the north of the country, were traveling through a travel agency.
Two Portuguese killed in “serious accident” with bus in Namibia
