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28 killed in Portugal bus crash, many German tourists

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A bus reported to be carrying tourists, including many from Germany, crashed on the island of Madeira in Portugal, killing at least 28.

Filipe Sousa, the mayor of Santa Cruz, said that 17 women and 11 men were killed in Wednesday’s accident.

Several others were wounded after the vehicle overturned near the town of Canico.

The cause of the crash, which happened in daylight in the early evening, was not immediately clear.

Images on Portuguese media showed an overturned white bus surrounded by firefighters. SIC television said there were 19 ambulances at the scene.

“I have no words to describe what happened. I cannot face the suffering of these people,” Sousa told SIC television.

Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he would travel to Madeira overnight.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Singapore Grand Hyatt Hotel ablaze: 500 evacuated

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A fire broke out at the luxury Grand Hyatt Hotel in downtown Singapore today forcing the evacuation of around 500 hotel guests.

In TV footage, thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the hotel that is located close to the Orchard Road shopping district. The fire started from a kitchen stove and exhaust duct in a restaurant on the second floor of the hotel. Water sprinklers put out the fire before firefighters arrived.

According to the Singapore Civil Defense Force, the fire was put out quickly, and emergency responders said nobody was injured.

Guests were still checking in to the Singapore hotel around 2 hours as the smell of the fire lingered in the lobby. The fire likely caused an electrical short on the second floor, as it was in darkness.

“The smoke was really terrible … it got into my throat. I think it was quite thick,” said Nadiah Yayoh, 40, who works at a boutique in the hotel. “Usually we have fire drills and normal evacuations, as well as fire practice … This is a lesson learned not to take it lightly.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

Senegalese migrant sets school bus full of children on fire in Italy

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The driver of a school bus filled with children has been arrested by Italian police for setting fire to the vehicle near Milan. The Senegalese man reportedly called for an end to “deaths in the Mediterranean” during the incident.

Miraculously all 51 schoolboys managed to escape the fire without injuries, although 12 children and two adults were sent to hospital for smoke inhalation.

The 46-year-old Senegal-born driver reportedly spilled gasoline down the aisle of the bus while shouting that he wants to stop deaths in the Mediterranean Sea before igniting the blaze.

“I want to end it, the deaths in the Mediterranean must be stopped,” he said according to the Italian news outlet.

The children were students of Vailati middle school in the Italian city of Cremona, and raised the alarm by calling their parents after the driver announced that he wanted to kill himself.

The Carabinieri, Italy’s national police service, stopped the vehicle by erecting a series of checkpoints that the driver attempted to break through.

The man eventually lost control of the vehicle and attempted to set the bus alight before the military rescued the students by breaking the windows.

Footage of the blaze show firefighters at the scene and the remains of the completely burned vehicle on the side of a busy road. The driver was reportedly known to police and has been arrested for the arson attack.

Travel News | eTurboNews