In just a few short weeks since the start of 2019, 55 people have been killed in accidents on Portugal’s roads.
If it’s not a record, it should be.
Tabloid Correio da Manhã says the dismal tally represents a 5% increase on deaths registered in the same period last year, while the number of accidents too are up (by 538 to 10,931).
The figures belie the sheer scope of the misery that involves so many shattered lives and serious injuries.
This week, in the north of the country, two “almost simultaneous” pile-ups claimed the lives of two further victims, a 70-year-old grandmother and her granddaughter, aged 10. A third occupant in the car that was completely destroyed is described as “fighting for her life in hospital”.
Nine other people were injured in accidents on the same evening, with five described as ‘seriously injured’.
The accident that involved the fatalities appears to have taken place in an area of the A1 motorway that was shrouded in “intense fog” with the added presence of smoke.
Presenting a map detailing the number of accidents per district since the start of the year, CM shows that Braga is the area where there have been the most deaths (11) while Lisbon remains the place where there are the highest number of accidents (2,266).
The Algarve has seen three deaths since January 1 in a total of 672 accidents.
