Prime Minister Luis Montenegro declared this Saturday a day of national mourning following the tragic helicopter crash on the Douro River in Lamego.
“The President of the Republic has agreed to declare tomorrow a day of national mourning. [sábado]” said Montenegro, who was at the scene of the crash that killed four people.
“This is a very sad day for Portugal,” the head of government said, expressing solidarity with the PPP in what happened. Montenegro expressed “recognition of how the authorities involved in the searches responded to the warning.”
“Every effort is being made to recover the bodies, provide support to the survivors of the crash and do everything possible to find the missing NTC soldier,” he added.
The prime minister explained that he had personally met with the divers and the families of the victims, but admitted that he had not yet spoken to the rescued pilot.
The person present at the scene along with the Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro stated that he was fulfilling his obligations as a representative of the government and also praised the work of the institutions involved in the search operations.
“I am very unimportant. But the institutions that I represent as prime minister deserve that those who oversee these areas can be close to them,” he concluded.