Both the president and the prime minister have ‘expressed lamentations’ over the tragic death yesterday evening of 44-year-old firefighter Daniel Bernardo Agrelo from Covilhã after the appliance in which he was travelling careered into a ravine.
Four other firefighters with him were injured in the accident, which saw the vehicle flip before it landed heavily on its side.
The worst injured firefighter was airlifted to hospital in Coimbra.
According to Civil Protection, the firefighters were responding to a call out to a fire in Fundão when they came off the road near the village of São Francisco de Assis (Covilhã).
In a statement in which it offered condolences to the families of all those affected, the entity said that “it is never enough to emphasise the commitment, altruism and professionalism with which, every day, thousands of firefighters across the country dedicate themselves to defending the population and the forest against fires”.
This was the second fatality in this summer’s wildfire scourge, the first having come in Vila Franca do Deão last week.
A statement posted on the official site of the presidency said: “The President of the Republic has just learned of the tragic death of firefighter Daniel Bernardo Agrelo, from the Covilhã Fire Department, in a road accident that occurred while he was on duty fighting fires, in which two of his colleagues were also seriously injured.
“All of them had been working tirelessly for ten days, without limit of time or space. As has been the case with thousands of firefighters in Portugal.
“The President of the Republic has already conveyed his deepest condolences to the Fire Department Commander and the Mayor of Covilhã, asking them to pass on his sympathy to the bereaved family and to the families who are anxious about the health of the injured firefighters”.
Prime minister Luís Montenegro wrote of his “deep sadness”, offering “sincerest condolences to the family” and a speedy recovery to the injured. “Portugal owes a great debt to its firefighters, who do not give up and dedicate all their effort and suffering to protect and defend us”, said a post on the X social network.
source material: SIC/ msn.com
