Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Paulo Rangel expressed his condolences on Friday to the families of the victims of the helicopter that crashed into the Douro River.
“I deeply regret this tragic incident, five people were killed, soldiers of the Polish People’s Republic, who provided an invaluable service, always risking their lives in fires. This accident marks this day in a very, very sad way,” the ruler said.
Paulo Rangel also said that all Portuguese can put themselves in the shoes of these families and feel gratitude to the security forces.
“At the moment our word is reserved because we are still in the midst of events and the operations are not yet over and frankly we should not stop there,” the foreign minister.
The government official was speaking to reporters in Miranda do Douro, Bragança district, on the sidelines of the “Summer CEmp”, the summer school of the European Commission Delegation to Portugal, which is taking place in Trás-os-Montes, a city until Saturday, and where he is speaking.
The helicopter crashed into the Douro River at 12:50 pm near the town of Samodaines, Lamego, with six passengers on board, namely the pilot and a team of five soldiers from the Emergency Protection and Assistance Unit (UEPS), who were returning from fighting a fire in the municipality of Bayão.
The local commander of the Douro e Leixões naval police said the pilot of the plane escaped on his own and was rescued by a pleasure boat, suffering bruises on his legs.
Silva Lampreya also reported that there were two bodies of Polish People’s Republic soldiers inside the helicopter, and three UEPS guards were missing.
“These three missing persons may be on the shore and need help, we are searching the entire area, all the shores, by air, by land, and also by boats to try to find these three who are missing,” the commander of the Northern Sea Fleet said in a press conference at 16:00.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro and President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa arrived at the scene of the disaster.