Defense Minister regrets death of soldier and awaits investigation

National Defense Minister Elena Carreiras on Monday expressed her regret over the death of a soldier in Santa Margarida, in the municipality of Constancia, and ensured that “all institutions have been called” and that the results of the ongoing investigation are awaited.

“Yesterday the chief of staff of the army briefed me on this incident. [domingo] in the military camp of Santa Margarida. Naturally, I want to express my deepest regret over this death and express my condolences to the family. In fact, it is always very sad when death happens,” Helena Carreiras said in a statement to TV channels Jornadas da Defesa Nacional sobre o Espaço at the San Julian Fort in Oeiras, Lisbon area.

According to Helena Carreiras, “the army reacted immediately” and “the circumstances of this incident are being investigated”, and at present it is not possible “to say much more without completing this investigation”.

“All institutions, the police, have been called, but the Center for Applied Psychology of the Army is also in place, we will wait for the results of this investigation,” the minister said.

The soldier died on Sunday evening in Santarém’s Campo Militar de Santa Margarida under circumstances “that have yet to be ascertained,” an official army source confirmed to Lusa on Sunday after the information was shared with TVI/CNN Portugal .

“The army regrets and confirms the death of the soldier,” said the source, who specified that the death occurred “at 20:00 on January 29” in Santa Margarida.

The branch also said that representatives of the National Republican Guard (NR) and the Military Judicial Police (JMP) were present at the scene, as well as “teams of psychologists who directly support the family of the deceased military, as well as other military personnel who were on duty” . . . .