Thirty-one-year-old Rui Sá was one of the 200 commuters on the south London tram that careered off the rails in Croydon on Wednesday, killing seven people and injuring over 50.
The young father-of-two who moved to the UK 16 years ago from Paredes de Coura saw scenes that he says he will never forget.
But while he escaped with little more than “small injuries to his shoulder, neck and ankle”, Sá is aware that there are many others worse off than he is, and thus he and his wife Susana Gaião have started a fundraising page.
Talking to Lusa news agency, the construction worker now recovering at home said he is horribly aware that if anything more serious had happened to him, his family would have been left high and dry.
“I am the only one working as my wife studies”, he explained. “Luckily I have a good boss, but lots of people will be facing time without working”, he said – and they may not be as lucky as he feels he has been.
The couple’s gofundmepage hopes to raise €80,000 to help people and their families while they wait for compensation claims.
“Everyone will talk of compensation”, says the explanatory text. “But that will take a long time to be sorted and these people have been through enough without having to worry about paying bills or feeding families”.
The page is taking its time to pick up speed and when we posted this text had only raised €458. It can be found on:https: //www.gofundme.com/sandilandstramfamilies
