The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Cape Verde (CEMFA), Antonio Duarte, assured on Monday that an investigation was underway into the causes that led to the accident, which killed eight soldiers fighting the fire.
At a press conference held late in the day in Praia, CEMFA said that while transporting 31 soldiers to support firefighting at Serra da Malagueta on Santiago Island “for reasons yet to be determined”, a military vehicle collided. and eventually capsized, resulting in the immediate deaths of five operators. Ultimately, two soldiers died in the Tarrafal Medical Battalion and one in the Santiago Norte Detachment, in addition to 23 wounded, eight of whom are still in Praia Hospital.
Antonio Duarte explained that an “investigation is underway” to establish the “circumstances under which the accident occurred”, but ensured that the driver, one of the dead, was an “experienced” military man and that the vehicle delivered to the Armed Forces of the Force in 2021 was “prepared project” forces onto the ground.
He added that 36 military personnel had already been mobilized to fight the fire on Saturday and that the results of the investigation into this incident should be known within 15 to 20 days.
The death toll from a car accident that took place on Sunday during a fire in Serra da Malagueta rose to nine this Monday, with the death of a technician from this natural park. According to a source at the Cape Verdean Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the ninth victim was a technician from the Serra da Malagueta Natural Park, and the death also came from an accident with a truck of the Cape Verdean armed forces.
The Office of the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Cape Verde initially mentioned seven deaths in a military vehicle accident that occurred at 17:20 (19:20 on Sunday in Lisbon) and in which operatives identified missions to support the fight against fires that broke out in Serra Malagueta and Figueira das Naus, about 50 km north of the city of Praia.
However, this number was updated to eight soldiers, in addition to several seriously wounded, as well as equipment from the Ministry of the Environment.
Cape Verdean Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva announced early Sunday that the government had “decided to declare two days of national mourning in memory of the victims” of the accident, starting on Tuesday.
According to a source from the National Civil Protection Service of Cape Verde, the fire broke out on Saturday at 10:30 (12:30 in Lisbon), engulfing Serra Malagueta, Figueira das Naus and Fundura.
On Sunday afternoon, the flames, which were brought under control, were fought by 200 operators of almost all fire departments of the island of Santiago, as well as military personnel, supported by two heavy fire engines, four light firefighters. and three ambulances.
As a result of the fire, ten families were evacuated from the city of Figueira das Naus, resulting in five minor injuries and one person in serious condition, all of whom were taken to hospital.
Meanwhile, the National Police announced the arrest of a man suspected of setting fire to this park.
Cape Verdean President José María Neves, who is on an official visit to the United States, also expressed “deep dismay at the fire, which has already engulfed a significant area of the forest perimeter of the Serra da Malagueta, and has also caused loss of life.”
“The head of state understands that huge trials and deep sorrow await the whole country. The President of the Republic expresses his deepest condolences to the families of the victims, wishes them to find the strength to endure this moment of deepest loss and suffering. inside the family,” he said in a statement from the President of the Republic.
“The head of state welcomes the enormous efforts that have been made from the very beginning to put out this fire of tragic proportions for our reality, and also appeals to the sense of unity of the whole nation for the solidarity that is imposed,” he added.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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