A trip to the lavatory ended in a nightmare fall three metres down into a disused grocer’s shop for 74-year-old Júlio Castelhano of Caldas da Rainha.
Battered and bruised, the elderly man managed to get help by attracting the attention of a passing vagrant, writes Correio da Manhã.
He banged on the grocer’s shop windows, alerting the vagrant’s attention to his plight, and finally firemen were called to his rescue around 7.30 on Monday.
“We had to break a window and force the aluminium door to get it,” said fire chief Rui Faria.
Castelhano was conscious but “disoriented, and showing anxiety”.
“He told us that he had been on the lavatory when the floor collapsed,” added Faria.
With Castelhano now being treated in hospital, police and civil protection authorities have to evaluate whether the property – “close to 100 years old” – is safe for habitation.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
Photo: Carlos Barroso/ Correio da Manhã
