Year: 2017

Following the in Pedrógão Grande fire which is now in the final stages of conclusion, the fire close-by in Góis, Combria was brought under control at 0741 hrs today Thursday 22nd June after five days of firefighting.

At the site are 1010 operational, supported by 284 vehicles. The units will remain and will be reinforced with four heavy aircraft – Canadair – and two heavy helicopters.

Our condolences go to the relatives and friends of at least 62 persons(including four children) who have died in a huge forest fire to the north east of Lisbon, as well as over 60 who have been injured including six firefighters.

The Prime Minister will decree this Sunday national mourning.

A huge forest fire in central Portugal has killed at least 62 people and injured over 60 others, most of them burning to death in their cars, the government said this morning (Sunday 18^th June).

Several hundred firefighters and 160 vehicles were dispatched late on Saturday to tackle the blaze, which broke out in the afternoon in the municipality of Pedrogao Grande before spreading fast across several fronts.

IMPORTANT UPDATE 10.16 HRS. SCP have contacted ANPC and have requested whether any special telephone number has been set up so loved ones can enquire about missing relatives. They have informed us that all enquiries should be made through respective Embassies of the nationalities concerned. Enquiries can be directed at the ANPC national headquarters in Lisbon for Portuguese who may be missing on 214247100.

Latest news

Earlier this Sunday morning, the fire still burns with great intensity. 7:05 am – According to the Civil Protection 682 operational, supported by 219 vehicles, are mobilized to fight the flames in the Pedrógão grande. The fire remains out of control. Very near there, a fire in Góis a total of 387 operational and 118 vehicles have been mobilized

A field hospital is set up in the next few hours and reinforcements are coming in to fight the fire. The fire has already passed to the municipality of Figueiró dos Vinhos, also in the district of Leiria.

According to Lusa, several fire engines were destroyed by fire. The forest fire is threatening several houses in Pedrogão Grande.

Due to the flames, the GNR closed some roads of the zone, among them, Itinerario Complementar 8 (IC8), in the exits of the industrial area of ​​Pedrógão Grande and Outão. The forest fire is threatening several houses in Pedrogão Grande.

Due to the flames, the GNR closed some roads of the zone, among them, Itinerario Complementar 8 (IC8), in the exits of the industrial area of ​​Pedrógão Grande and Outão. The forest fire is threatening several houses in Pedrogão Grande. Due to the flames, the GNR closed some roads of the zone, among them, Itinerario Complementar 8 (IC8), in the exits of the industrial area of ​​Pedrógão Grande and Outão.

More details of the incident 

“Unfortunately this seems to be the greatest tragedy we have seen in recent years in terms of forest fires,” the visibly moved Prime Minister Antonio Costa said.

“The number of fatalities could still rise,” he said at the Civil Protection headquarters near Lisbon. “The priority now is to save those people who could still be in danger.”

Portugal was sweltering under a severe heatwave on Saturday, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in several regions.

Around 60 forest fires broke out across the country during the night, with 1,700 firefighters battling to put them out.

Secretary of state for the interior Jorge Gomes said earlier that 22 people burned to death in their cars when they found themselves trapped by flames on the road between Figueiro dos Vinhos and Castanheira de Pera.

Three others died from smoke inhalation. Sixteen people were injured, including five firefighters. Two of those were seriously injured.

The flames spread “with great violence”, moving out on four fronts, Gomes said.

Dry thunderstorms could have been the cause of the fatal blaze, according to the prime minister.

A number of villages were affected by the main fire and evacuation procedures had been put in place for some of them, Costa added. Officials were not immediately able to comment on the extent of the damage.

Spain dispatched two water-bombing planes on Sunday morning to aid the Portuguese fire service on the ground, the prime minister said.

Costa said a period of national mourning would be announced shortly.

President Marcelo Rebelo went to the Leiria region to meet families of the victims, “sharing their pain in the name of all the Portuguese people,” he said. Firefighters did “all they could” when faced with the blaze, he added.

 

“Unfortunately this seems to be the greatest tragedy we have seen in recent years in terms of forest fires,” the visibly moved Prime Minister Antonio Costa said.

“The number of fatalities could still rise,” he said at the Civil Protection headquarters near Lisbon. “The priority now is to save those people who could still be in danger.”

Portugal was sweltering under a severe heatwave on Saturday, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in several regions.

Around 60 forest fires broke out across the country during the night, with 1,700 firefighters battling to put them out.

 

President Marcelo Rebelo went to the Leiria region to meet families of the victims, “sharing their pain in the name of all the Portuguese people,” he said. Firefighters did “all they could” when faced with the blaze, he added.

180 people are engaged in patrolling for fire prevention

The sierras of Madeira are, as of today, provided with teams to patrol and vigilance thanks to the Operative Plan of Combat to Forest Fires. The Secretary for Social Inclusion and Social Affairs stated this was in an initiative that aimed to mark the start of this plan, which extends until October 15, with the aim of preventing the ignition of forest fires.

Rubina Leal stressed, however, that if necessary, this surveillance could extend for more days. All of the Region’s fire brigades are committed to this plan which will feature patrolling throughout the island. “You have to be aware that, for example, this year, 193 ignitions have started in the woods,” said the secretary.

GNR is also committed to this plan, which has existed for three years, in order to detect and prevent early forest and forest fires. The government also counts on the population to give the alert in case of fire starts.

In total 180 people are involved in this initiative. Regarding the use of air resources, Rubina Leal says she is still waiting for the report to assess if the use of these resources is required.

In addition, 10 hectares have been cleared in the sierras of Madeira in order to prevent forest fires and the resources of the firefighters have been strengthened. However, there is also an international tender for the acquisition of 18 vehicles that reinforce corporations in the Region.

Rubina Leal also added that, weekly, atmospheric conditions are evaluated in order to take preventive action. “Everybody is perfectly aware of what they have to do to prevent fires” she said.

The firefighter was held in custody after being arrested by the Judicial Police in Coimbra on suspicion of five forest fires.

A source from the Center’s directorate told the Lusa news agency that the young man was arrested on 13^th June, in compliance with a warrant issued by the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action of (DIAP) of Coimbra, and he was sentenced to pre-trial detention the following day after Judicial interrogation.

The fires were started in bush, eucalyptus and pine trees in Marmeleira, Souselas, in the municipality of Coimbra, between April 4 and May 25, and burned an area of ​​approximately 20,000 square meters.

“It just did not reach higher proportions due to the prompt intervention of the firemen,” says the same source, noting that the firefighter belongs to a corporation outside the district of Coimbra.

An Aero Vip plane had to perform a manoeuvre on 16^th June to avoid a collision with a drone at 300 meters altitude, when it was approaching to land at Cascais Aerodrome.

The pilot stated “On approaching runway 35 in Cascais I glimpsed an object that I thought was a bird. As I approached, I realized that it was a large drone of four rotors. I descended to avoid collision with the ‘drone’, which passed about five meters above the left wing, “Jorge Cernadas told Lusa.

The commander added that the incident occurred at 6:00 p.m., at a time when the drone was about 300 meters above sea level on the line of flight that followed the plane of the village of Tires in the district of Lisbon, within “two or three minutes of landing”.

The Dornier 228, with 14 people on board, was then already in the landing configuration and with the undercarriage down.

The pilot classifies the incident, something that had never happened to him before, as “very serious.”

On 14^th June at 23.00hrs the PSP Metropolitan Command of Lisbon (Public Transport Division) , recovered in the Loures area two French Bulldogs, and €950 euros.

About two hours earlier, the dogs had been stolen from their owner when the owner was delivering them to the alleged buyer (the sale and delivery of the dogs had been arranged through an internet buying and selling website).

Around 21.30 hrs, the owner of the dogs reported at a police station in Lisbon that, shortly before, when delivering the dogs to the alleged buyer who was in a vehicle, the buyer was accompanied by two other suspects, who fled with the canines without payment.

The PSP started an investigation and by 23.00hrs located the dogs in the Loures area, whereupon they were returned to its owner.

The PSP provide the following advice to sellers and buyers in using online platforms,

• Try to choose public places and avoid locations without witnesses, when making a transaction (i.e. delivery/purchase of an item
• Do not give too much personal information. Remember that you are only with the seller to finalize the transaction;
• Make the payment securely and preferably in cash. Avoid Bank transfers, unless you are absolutely sure about the seller’s trustworthiness.

GNR recovered more than 3000 wallets that had been stolen from a warehouse in Varziela industrial zone, in Vila do Conde.

The operation carried out by the Criminal Investigation Nucleus (NIC) of the GNR de Matosinhos was the result of a theft that occurred in April, in which thousands of wallets of cork, with a registered trademark, were stolen from a wholesale warehouse.

In a first phase, conducted in April, police seized 934 of the stolen wallets on sale at a weekly fair of Vila Nova de Famalicão.

On 14^th June, searches were conducted in the Greater Porto area, in the towns of Arcozelo, Rio Tinto, Ermesinde and Alfena, which resulted in the seizure of another 3034 wallets, as well as two firearms and 924 counterfeit articles.

Talks commence on 16^th June concerning a proposed revision of the statute of prosecutors, who delay without justification judicial proceedings.

Aimed at ending delays in the justice process the government wants to introduce revisions to the statute of prosecutors, by introducing measures to punish those who delay, without justification, the judicial processes, the newspaper Público reported.

Among the punishments foreseen are fines, compulsory transfer, suspension, or even expulsion from the profession.

The government’s proposal to revise the status of prosecutors begins today to be discussed with the Union of Magistrates of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (SMMP).

Speaking to Público, the president of the SMMP, António Ventinhas, guarantees that delays are systematically due “to the lack of magistrates,” many of whom “are doing the work of two people.”

A First in Portugal

Public Security Police Lisbon Metropolitan Command and Safe Communities Portugal are organizing a public seminar in Cascais to create awareness concerning the increasing threat of on-line fraud affecting both the tourism industry as well as holiday makers themselves.

This will be held on Friday 23^rd June, 2017 in the Auditorium of the Cultural Centre of Cascais, starting at 16.15 hrs for registration.

This seminar, the first of its kind in Portugal, are being held to give an insight into on-line fraud affecting the Global Tourism industry. With the global increase in on-line fraud and various scams, the tourism industry worldwide has become an inviting target for cyber criminals. This includes on-line villa letting fraud, fake travel websites, air ticket fraud, as well as many others.

The seminar will explore the threats to tourism posed by this, and what steps are being taken in Portugal to identify the risks and reduce the affects.

It is important that those in the tourism industry, such as villa letting companies, property management companies and tour operators are aware of these threats and how to reduce the risk to businesses as well as their clients. Likewise. it is important that holidays makers know how to recognise possible fraud in order to avoid being scammed.

The seminar will bring together those in government and those in the industry in order to create awareness, share best practices in combatting this sort of crime. Presenters at the Seminar will include presentations by the Consumidor (Government consumer rights authority); Association of Local Accommodation in Portugal, Cybercrime Office of the Attorney-General of the Republic, the Australian Embassy, Public Security Police and Safe Communities Portugal.

This is a unique opportunity for travel companies, property letting and management companies as well as those who let their properties to attend. Entry is free and the language will be English and Portuguese.

Safe Communities Portugal and the Regional Tourism Algarve are planning a seminar on the same topic which will be held later. Details will be published in due course.

Cascais Seminar 23^rd June – Please contact: lsbgabcmd@psp.pt or by telephone: 21 765 42 08/09 by June 21, 2017 in order to reserve a place or on info@safecommunitiesportugal.com or by telephone on 913045093.

At stake is the purchase of blood products and inactivated human plasma.

This was another phase of the “O Negative” operation, related to the investigation of frauds in the National Health Service (SNS), which led last year to the arrest of the former president of the Regional Health Administration of Lisbon And INEM, Luís Cunha Ribeiro, and Lalanda e Castro, former president of Octapharma in Portugal.

Approximately 50 inspectors of the PJ, three Judges of Instruction and three Attorneys General of the Republic of DCIAP carried out searches on 6th June 2017 in residences, accounting offices, doctors’ offices and hospital centers in Lisbon and Porto, in order to detect and apprehend elements related to the investigation.

During the proceedings of this Tuesday, three physicians were constituted defendants.