Two burn to death in disastrous ‘burning of old vines’

Two friends suffered an horrific death yesterday when they set about (legally) burning old vines on a property in Castanheira do Ribatejo, in the municipality of Vila Franca de Xira. After receiving authorisation for the burning from local bombeiros, the pair – aged 76 and 60 – set about their task, but the wind appears suddenly to have changed, leaving them both surrounded. An autopsy “will show whether the men were already unconscious from the fumes before their bodies were carbonised”, say reports.