Portugal's general discussion (general events)

[Mike88]

Massive cargo ship with 4,000 luxury cars sinks off the Azores islands:

https://twitter.com/Publico/status/1498694102258532360?cxt=HHwWkIC-gY-Wt8wpAAAA

Shipwreck: Ship with thousands of luxury cars sinks off the Azores

The Felicity Ace ship, which was carrying about 4000 luxury Volkswagen group cars on board, sank this Tuesday about 46 kilometers off the coast.

During the towing operation, which began on February 24, “water entered” the ship, which “lost stability and sank,” Faial port captain João Mendes Cabeças told Reuters.

The boat sank “about 25 nautical miles, the equivalent of 46 kilometers, outside the limit of the Economic and Exclusive Zone of Portugal, in an area whose depth is around 3,000 meters”, details the Portuguese Navy in a statement.

At the site there are “some wreckage and a small patch of oily waste, which is being dispersed by the water jets of the tugboats and which is being monitored by the Directorate for Combating Pollution of the National Maritime Authority and the European Maritime Safety Agency” .

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Volkswagen, Porsche and Bentley cars on board

The Felicity Ace, which was sailing 90 nautical miles (about 170 kilometers) southwest of the island of Faial, suffered a fire on board on the 16th of February. The 22 crew members were rescued and transported safely to Horta airport.

According to the Associated Press (AP) reported in February, the Felicity Ace, which departed Emden, Germany, headed for the port of Davisville, in the US state of Rhode Island, was transporting Volkswagen group cars.
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[Mike88]

Sines Harbour CEO says that the Harbour is ready for expansion in order to stock pile gas for Europe:

https://twitter.com/ECO_PT/status/1498935085462134786

Sines may have a new terminal to deliver gas to Europe

The president of the Administration of the Ports of Sines and Algarve (APS) assures that “there is capacity to build a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal” in Portugal, in order to “increase storage capacity” for Europe, reports the Jornal de Negócios (paid access) this Wednesday.

These statements come after commentator Luís Marques Mendes stated in SIC that Brussels is preparing to “encourage interconnections between the Iberian Peninsula and France to take gas to Central Europe”, looking for an alternative to buying gas from Russia.

But Sines will only be able to move forward when the technical constraints in the interconnections between Spain and France are overcome. Furthermore, even if it goes ahead, this investment may take about two years and it will still be necessary to define who pays for the construction. Speaking to Negócios, the president of the Port and Logistics Community of Sines also added that a ship arrives every five days at the Alentejo port and is stored at REN's LNG terminal.

Currently, there's a big project to expand the harbour and it's being disputed by China and the US. China was poised to win the project, but then Covid appeared and China failed to propose a project. Now, the US is interested in picking up the project and this proposed new gas terminal could appeal even more to the Americans.

[Mike88]

Supermarkets are already rationing some products in the shelves:

https://twitter.com/observadorpt/status/1502200383774539778

Supermarkets are already limiting the sale of sunflower oil, a product imported from Ukraine

Continente and Mercadona began rationing the sale of bottles of cooking oil per customer. The measure comes after António Costa said that "there will be no shortage" of essential goods.

Sunflower oil, which Portugal imports from Ukraine, is starting to be rationed in some commercial areas. This is the case with Continente and Mercadona which, according to Jornal de Notícias, have already started to limit the number of products that each customer can purchase. But it's not just (pure) sunflower oils – even blended oils are being rationed.

In an image that the Observer had access to, the following message can be read: “Due to the sharp increase in demand for cooking oil, we inform you that the sale of the product is limited to the sale of three units per customer. Buy only what you need.”
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Also on the Continente Online website, several products are being rationed, even when they are not pure sunflower oil. “In view of the high demand, the sale of this product is limited to 2 units per customer”, can be read in a note on the website.
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[Mike88]

Porto's Jewish community Rabbi arrested by the police due to an investigation surrounding Roman Abramovich's Portuguese nationality issue:

https://twitter.com/dntwit/status/1502370661544591362

Rabbi who validated Abramovich's naturalization was arrested

Rabbi Daniel Litvak, responsible for the Sephardic Certification Commission of the Israeli Community of Porto (CIP), was arrested this Friday by the Judiciary Police.

In question are the alleged irregularities committed in processes to grant Portuguese nationality to descendants of Sephardic Jews, which are under investigation. One of the cases is that of Russian millionaire Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea, who became, since April 30, 2021, a Portuguese citizen under the Nationality Law for Sephardic Jews.

Daniel Litvak is suspected of the crimes of criminal association, active corruption, money laundering, tax fraud and influence peddling in the Abramovich case, but also of other processes of naturalization of descendants of Sephardic Jews.

In a statement, the Judiciary Police said that its National Anti-Corruption Unit (UNCC) carried out several home and non-domicile searches, including a lawyer's office, as part of an investigation conducted by the DCIAP.

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[Mike88]

Porto's Jewish community Rabbi arrested by the police due to an investigation surrounding Roman Abramovich's Portuguese nationality issue:

Update: The police has removed the passports of Rabbi Daniel Litvak and he was released during the early hours of this Saturday, and has to present himself 3 times a week in a police station. A Porto city lawyer is also suspect of helping Rabbi Litvak in the schemes. Litvak is suspected of diverting part of donations worth 35 million euros and of facilitating the grant of Portuguese nationality to sereval high profile people. Another suspect of this scheme is the owner of Altice group, Patrick Drahi, a French multinational telecommunications company, which got his Portuguese nationality in 2016 under the umbrella of the descendants of Sephardi Jews law.

The Porto Israeli Community is rejecting the police accusations and say that all accusationw will be countered "point by point", adding also that the Rabbi is innocent.

[Mike88]

CNN Portugal is also reporting that the investigation on Abramovich Portuguese nationality is much broader, and that the police suspects that 80,000 Portuguese nationalization certificates are suspicious. According to CNN, this means that the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN) is involved in the investigation as the police believes that government employees from the IRN could have accepted bribes. The police suspects that there could be a "big web" to give Portuguese nationality in exchange of bribes.

[Mike88]

Big gas explosion destroys buildings and cars in the suburbs of Lisbon, 15 injured so far:

https://twitter.com/edgar_madureira/status/1504093869398532102

The explosion at Casal de S. Brás, Amadora, injured 15 people, six firefighters and nine civilians. Apparently, the deflagration was caused by a gas leak on the 6th floor.

According to the latest report, there are two seriously injured, one of whom is a firefighter.

"It was an explosion of some size, with material damage and also injuries," the commander of the Civil Protection of Amadora, Luís Carvalho, told Lusa, specifying that the incident took place at José Maria Pereira Street, number 7.

According to the commander, who was speaking at around 11:30 am, the wounded are being "counted".

"People were also removed from the building and adjacent buildings," added the official.
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[Mike88]

4 police officers injured after clashes in a nightclub in Lisbon. One of the officers is in a coma.

https://twitter.com/observadorpt/status/1505172358126055430

Four policemen violently attacked outside a Lisbon nightclub. One of them is in a coma

Four police officers were violently assaulted in the early hours of Saturday outside a nightclub in Lisbon, having been transported to the hospital, where one of them is “in critical condition”, informed the PSP Lisbon Metropolitan Command.

A PSP union source told the Lusa agency that the policeman who is in a critical condition is in a coma, at Saint Joseph Hospital, in Lisbon.

In the statement issued, the Metropolitan Command of Lisbon says that the incident took place at dawn, at 6:30 am, “outside a nightlife establishment, on 24 July Avenue”, having started with mutual aggressions between several citizens.

According to the PSP, there were “four police officers, off duty, who immediately intervened, as was their legal obligation” and ended up being “violently” attacked by one of the groups, made up of about ten people.

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[Mike88]

Controversy as a judge allows accused neonazi Mario Machado to go fight in Ukraine against Russia:

https://twitter.com/observadorpt/status/1504918418792890371

Mário Machado exempted from fortnightly presentations at the police station to fight in Ukraine

The Criminal Investigation Court authorized that Mário Machado, accused in a case of incitement to racial hatred and violence on social networks, does not have to go fortnightly to the police station because he will fight in Ukraine.

The news is advanced by Expresso newspaper, which had access to the court's decision and also confirmed it with Machado's lawyer. The judge of the Lisbon Criminal Investigation Court justified this authorization with “the humanitarian situation experienced in Ukraine and the purposes invoked by the accused for his claim”. “The defendant may fail to comply with the aforementioned coercive measure while he is absent abroad”, quotes the newspaper.

The court's decision comes in response to a request by his lawyer, José Manuel Castro, filed in early March. Machado, who is also indicted for the crime of possession of a prohibited weapon, leads a group of eight nationalists who will leave for Ukraine on the 20th to fight with a militia of the Ukrainian extreme right that is in Lviv, but which, according to Expresso , is not the Azov Battalion.

Mário Machado has a long list of convictions: he has been imprisoned for crimes of racial hatred, offense to physical integrity, possession of an illegal weapon, kidnapping, robbery, coercion, and also for involvement in the death of the Portuguese citizen born in Cape Verde, Alcino Monteiro.

[Mike88]

Seismic crisis in the Azores: 700 earthquakes registered in the island of São Jorge in the last 24 hours.

https://twitter.com/volcanodiscover/status/1505826023878840324

About 700 earthquakes were recorded in the last 24 hours on the island of São Jorge, in the Azores, all of low magnitude, but only 48 were felt, revealed this Sunday a source from the Azores Seismovolcanic Information and Surveillance Center (CIVISA).

“We have already recorded, in the last 24 hours, about seven hundred earthquakes, all of low magnitude, following a seismic crisis that originated on Saturday in the Manadas volcanic fissure system, on the island of São Jorge, but only 48 of them were felt by the population”, explained to Lusa the president of CIVISA, Rui Marques.

According to the same source, this fissure system, which coincides with the main volcanic cones of the island, is still active and now registers a release of energy that was not common in recent years.

“All the earthquakes felt in São Jorge since 5:11 pm on Saturday [6:11 pm in Lisbon] are of tectonic origin”, assured Rui Marques, adding that the largest earthquake, 3.2 on the Richter scale, was recorded at 2:43 am this Sunday and reached grade IV/V on the modified Mercalli scale, having been felt by the populations of São Jorge and also the island of Pico.
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[Mike88]

4 police officers injured after clashes in a nightclub in Lisbon. One of the officers is in a coma.

Update in this case: The police officer in a coma, Fábio Guerra, died this morning. The police, so far, has identified two suspects involved in the beating of the 4 police officers. Both are navy marines that are now currently locked up in a Portuguese Navy facility in the suburbs of Lisbon.

President Marcelo and the Government have already reacted to the news and paid tribute to officer Fábio Guerra.

[Mike88]

Seismic crisis in the Azores: 700 earthquakes registered in the island of São Jorge in the last 24 hours.

Update: The number of earthquakes has surpassed 1,000.

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1506031713176145922

There are fears that this could lead to a volcano eruption along the island's volcanic fissure of Manadas. The last time it erupted was in 1808.

[Mike88]

Update on the Azores seismic crisis: Regional Government is preparing preventive measures for a possible major earthquake or volcanic eruption.

The President of Azores, José Manuel Boliero, has cancelled a trip to Brazil to follow the seismic crisis and has advised the population of São Jorge island to be "vigilant" and to be calm. The regional government also announced they are preparing plans to evacuate the island's population, if necessary, and are collaborating with the two mayors of the island.

São Jorge island has a population of 8,373 according to the 2021 Census.

[Mike88]

Azores seismic crisis update: Regional Government says that there's a real possibility of a volcano eruption. Alert level raised.

The Azores Seismovolcanic Information and Surveillance Center (CIVISA) today raised the volcanic alert level on the island of São Jorge to V4 (out of a total of five), which means "real possibility of eruption", said the Regional Government.

"Today, at 15:30 [16:30 in Lisbon], the rise to level V4 of volcanic alert was reported, which means a real possibility of eruption", said the regional secretary for Health of the Azores, Clélio Meneses, who oversees Civil Protection, at a press conference in Angra do Heroísmo, on Terceira island.

In view of this scenario, the Azorean executive recommended that the population with greater vulnerabilities in the main affected area on the island of São Jorge should leave their homes.

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Patients from the local hospital have also been transferred to the other side of the island. Things are getting complicated in the Azores.

Let's hope nothing bad really happens.

[Mike88]

Update on the Azores crisis: Evacuations are taking place in São Jorge, with residents leaving to the eastern part of the island or to near by islands.

https://twitter.com/RTPNoticias/status/1507137687043469343?cxt=HHwWvsCj_bfvtuopA...

Seismic activity in the Azores. Population of São Jorge leaves the island as a precaution

This evening, the last reinforcement boat leaves the port of S. Jorge for the population to leave the island as a precaution. Tickets are practically all sold out.

During the weekend, a storm is forecast to hit the island which, in the advent of a serious volcanic event, would complicate any help or evacuations. Therefore, the Azores government decided to hasten the evacuation of the island's residents and made available ships and airplanes for people to leave the island as fast as possible.

[Mike88]

Spanish experts say that the magma intrusion in São Jorge island is of the same size that led to the La Palma's eruption last September:

Through the analysis of data obtained by satellite, experts from the Instituto Vulcanológico das Canárias (INVOLCAN) consider that the deformation in the soil observed on the Azorean island is caused by an intrusion of magma with a volume of 20 million cubic meters. And do not rule out a similar eruption in São Jorge in the coming weeks

Based on the analysis of images collected by the European Space Agency's satellite, the Canary Islands Volcanological Institute (Involcan) concludes that the deformation in the soil observed in São Jorge has "volcanic origin" and is caused by an intrusion of magma along a fracture subvertical, with a volume of 20 million cubic meters, similar to that recorded in La Palma, before the eruption of Cumbre Vieja.
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[Mike88]

Update on the Azores: Earthquakes have changed location and their epicenters are closer to the surface:

https://twitter.com/P__Portugal/status/1509680192092086275

Seismic crisis in São Jorge: “new situation” with changes in the location of earthquakes

The president of the Azorean Civil Protection said this Thursday that the outbreaks of earthquakes recorded in the new zone of the São Jorge seismovolcanic crisis, in Rosais, were recorded closer to the surface, between five and seven kilometers deep.

Speaking to the Lusa agency, Brigadier General Eduardo Faria said that the record of earthquakes in the Rosais area, in the westernmost part of the island, is a “new situation”.

Since the beginning of the seismic crisis in São Jorge, on the 19th, earthquakes have been occurring in the central part of the island, in an area that goes from the center of Velas to Fajã do Ouvidor.

Already in the daily briefing on the situation, the president of the Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service of the Azores had revealed the existence of “a change in relation to the location of the epicenters” of the earthquakes. “These things cannot be predicted where it will be, but one would be more expecting it to continue along the same lines as it had in recent days.”

According to him, the earthquakes in the Rosais area have occurred closer to the surface, since the hypocenter has been recorded between “five to seven kilometers deep”.

The events that took place in the central area of ​​the island continue with a depth of “7.5 to 12 kilometers”.
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During this week, the biggest earthquakes so far were recorded: 3.8 in the Richter scale on Tuesday, 29 March, evening, and 3.6 on Wednesday, 30 March.

[Mike88]

Updates:

- Azores seismic crisis: Earthquakes continue to be felt by the population, a total of 28,251 have been registered but only 250 have been felt by the population. The situation continues stable and earthquakes continue to be registered, but with a lower tendency. Plus, the regional government announced financial aid to the island's economy. Some residents are also returning to their homes in the island;

- Sexual harassment and racism accusations are hitting Portuguese universities: Professors at the Lisbon Law School are being investigated for sexually harassing female students in exchange for better grades. One of the accused is a former PS government member during Costa's first term as PM, Guilherme W. d'Oliveira Martins; In Porto's Economy Faculty, a teacher was thrown out of the Faculty because of racist and sexual attacks mainly towards Brazilian students during classes. A group of 129 students filled a complaint against this teacher last year and he's now forbidden to teach in Porto University and cannot appeal. Other complaint, from last October, also accused several teachers and students of racist attacks towards foreign students, mainly from Brazil;

- Sexual Abuses in the Portuguese Catholic Church: The committee investigating the cases gave a first update on the work done so far. Until now, 290 cases of sexual abuse have been validated, but only 16 were sent to the authorities as the majority of the crimes have already prescribed. However, the committee says that there are still cover ups in the Church and that some Bishops are still reluctant in helping the committee;

- FBI arrested a Portuguese man accused of leading one of the world's major hacking forums: The FBI, with the help also of the Portuguese Police, arrested a young Portuguese man, aged 21, accused of leading one of the world's major hacking platforms, trafficking around 10 billion individual data stolen. He was arrested in the UK. The Portuguese Police was also involved in an investigation that found a server, used to manipulate US election results, was housed in Portugal;

- On a funny side, a Boar attacked 3 police officers in the Algarve: A boar, of average size, created some tense moments in Olhão city, Algarve, after entering the local market and wandering around a restaurant area. The police was forced to shot down the animal as he was running towards them to attack;

[Mike88]

Earthquake hits the largest island in the Azores, São Miguel:

https://twitter.com/theportugalnews/status/1515994453110149124

An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale and with an epicentre about 35 kilometres southeast (SE) of Água Retorta, in São Miguel, in the Azores, was felt this morning in several parishes of the largest Azorean island.

The Azores Seismovolcanic Information and Surveillance Center (CIVISA) indicates that the earthquake was felt at 05:57 local time (06:57 in Lisbon), according to a statement from the Civil Protection of the Azores.
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[Mike88]

Porto university opens investigation to a teacher accused of abusing and impregnating a student:
https://twitter.com/observadorpt/status/1519823948317442049

Professor at the School of Letters at UP accused of abusing student. Young woman got pregnant by the teacher and lost the baby

A foreign student at the School of Letters at Porto University is accusing a teacher of abusing her and making her pregnant. The student filled a police complaint last 21 April, and the student has already cancelled her inscription in the school and is ready to leave Portugal. The abuse seems to have started last September when she asked a professor for some help in an essay, but he started harassing her and he ended up forcing to have sexual relations. The student said that the professor threatened her if she spoke, and she ultimately got pregnant and, when she informed the professor, he was furious and pushed her. A few weeks later, she suffered a spontaneous abortion.

Porto university has now opened an investigation surrounding the matter, however, the professor's lawyer says that the accusations are complete lies and there was no sexual abuse.

Stories about sexual abuse in Portuguese universities by professors have been making headlines in the last few weeks, with investigations showing wide spread abuse and also attempts of cover ups.

[Mike88]

Economy: Inflation surges to 7.2% in April, even though GDP also surges 11.9% compared with Q1 2021.

https://twitter.com/ECO_PT/status/1519961220719292416

Inflation in Portugal soars to 7.2% in April, the highest value in the last 29 years

The inflation rate in Portugal accelerated to 7.2% in April, the highest value since March 1993 and an increase of 1.9 percentage points compared to March, according to a quick estimate by the National Statistics Institute (INE). This increase is influenced by unprocessed energy and food products.

Data indicate that the core inflation indicator (excluding unprocessed food and energy) continued to accelerate in April, from a year-on-year change of 3.8% in March to 5% in April, the highest level since September 1995.
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At the same time, GDP growth surprised economists by growing 11.9% compared with Q1 2021 and 2.6% compared with Q4 2021:

After a growth of 4.9% in 2021 and despite the impact of the war from the end of February, the Portuguese economy grew 2.6% chain-on-quarter (compared to the fourth quarter) in the first three months of this year, according to the quick estimate. released this Friday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). In year-on-year terms, GDP advanced 11.9% as it had contracted in the first quarter of 2021, as well as in the first quarter of 2020.
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It was private consumption that gave this unexpected boost to GDP during the first quarter of 2022. “Compared with the 4th quarter of 2021, GDP increased by 2.6% in volume (chain growth of 1.7% in the previous quarter ), with a more positive contribution of domestic demand to the change in GDP, in part motivated by the acceleration of private consumption, while the contribution of net external demand remained slightly positive”, explains INE. This could be explained by the gradual lifting of restrictions from the pandemic.
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[Mike88]

One death and one injured during FCPorto championship celebrations in Porto city. Police has already identified the suspects:

https://twitter.com/Publico/status/1523223008017534976

Crime: FC Porto champion: man stabbed to death during festivities in Antas

A 26-year-old man died this morning after being stabbed during the celebrations for the title of national champion of FC Porto next to Dragão Stadium, in Porto, said a police source.

According to a source from the Metropolitan Command of the PSP in Porto, during the dawn there was an aggression against a man who was celebrating the national title at Antas Avenue, in Porto, having been stabbed, and the “woman who accompanied him when separating the fight ended up stabbed. also".

Both were transported to a hospital, and the man ended up not being able to resist the injuries, according to the same source, who does not know the severity of the woman's injuries.

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In the meantime, the Porto PSP has identified the suspects in the attacks. In a statement released today, the Porto Metropolitan Command said that the police officers who were part of the policing device who were next to Dragão Stadium were informed that there had been a disorder in Antas Avenue, at 2:40 am, so they immediately moved to the zone.
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[Mike88]

Police kills a kidnapper, possibly German, who took hostage tourists in a hostel in the suburbs of Lisbon:

Portuguese police have shot and killed a man, described as a German citizen by some local media, who had taken another person hostage at knifepoint in an apartment on the outskirts of Lisbon on Thursday.

In a statement, police only confirmed that the hostage-taker had died of his wounds, but provided no details on him or his hostage, and declined to elaborate when contacted by Reuters.

The assailant was "of great physical stature and armed with two-edged weapons", with which he had seriously wounded the hostage, the statement said.

Attempts to free the victim had resulted in an officer being stabbed, so police opened fire, it said.

Correio da Manha newspaper cited a police source as saying the man was a German tourist, who was apparently drunk and deranged when he attacked other foreigners in the apartment in Alges, a neighbourhood by the river Tagus that is popular with tourists.

[Mike88]

Fugitive banker João Rendeiro, arrested in South Africa:

João Rendeiro found dead in his prison cell in South Africa. Suicide is the most likely cause:

https://twitter.com/euronewspt/status/1525042138592993282

João Rendeiro found dead in jail

Former BPP president João Rendeiro was found hanged in the jail where he was being held, in South Africa, the lawyer of the former Portuguese banker told Lusa.

June Marks further added that authorities are investigating the circumstances of what happened.

João Rendeiro was being held in a prison in Durban, South Africa, where he was awaiting a decision on the extradition process to Portugal.

The former banker had been convicted in three separate cases related to the collapse of Banco Privado Português (BPP), and the court found that he withdrew 13.61 million euros from the bank. Of the three convictions, only one had already become final.

In September last year, Rendeiro had been sentenced to three years and six months in prison, in a case of qualified fraud, and was on the run from justice until he was caught in December in South Africa.
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The collapse of BPP, in 2010, injured thousands of customers and caused losses of hundreds of millions of euros to the State.

[Mike88]

Tragic bus accident in the main motorway of the country. 28 injured, 3 death so far:

https://twitter.com/PortoCanalpt/status/1527980128738877441

Three people died, four were seriously injured and 26 with minor injuries in the accident with a bus that crashed this morning on the A1, in the Mealhada area, on the way to Fátima.

A heavy passenger vehicle crashed this Saturday morning in the Mealhada area, on the A1. According to the latest official information, three are confirmed dead, and 28 injured.

The first balance had indicated two dead, but the Civil Protection had in the meantime indicated another fatal victim.

Speaking to journalists near the scene of the accident, Civil Protection officer Carlos Tavares said that there was one dead person already removed from the bus and two people incarcerated "with no vital signs".

There are still several people incarcerated.
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The accident was the result of a tire burst. The Civil Protection official said that the bus "may have left the carriageway and crashed into an electricity pole".
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