Overview

• A fire engine carrying Covilhã volunteer firefighters veered off a mountain road in São Francisco de Assis and plunged into a ravine on August 17 while en route to tackle a wildfire in Quinta do Campo, Fundão.
• Two crew members were confirmed dead at the scene and three others sustained life-threatening injuries in the crash.
• The National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority deployed 26 operators, nine vehicles and an aircraft, with GNR and INEM teams joining volunteer brigades in the rescue operation.
• One of the injured firefighters was airlifted by helicopter to a Coimbra hospital and the remaining two remain in critical condition.
• President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and the Portuguese Firefighters League issued condolences and highlighted the strain on emergency services during a severe wildfire season.