An official on Portugal's Madeira Island says a tour bus crash has killed 28 people, most of them German tourists.

Local mayor Filipe Sousa tells cable news channel SIC that the victims include 17 women and 11 men.

He says the bus carrying 55 people rolled down a steep hillside Wednesday after veering off the road on a bend east of the capital, Funchal.

Local television shows bodies scattered over the rural hillside next to the Atlantic Ocean.

Residents say the weather was fine at the time of the accident, which happened in daylight in the early evening.

Authorities say they are investigating the possible cause.

Madeira is a popular vacation destination for Europeans.