A violent accident on the EN266 road between Monchique and Portimão, near the Carrasqueira stream bridge, on the early afternoon of Sunday, August 24, resulted in the deaths of five individuals, leaving the Algarve and beyond in shock.
The luxury vehicle, a gasoline-powered Jaguar, overturned, fell from a height of about 20 meters, exploded, and caught fire.
Witnesses at the scene at the time of the accident reportedly attempted to help, but there was nothing that could be done. All occupants of the vehicle perished in the flames.
This Monday, details of the victims have emerged. The driver was Carlos Soares, a 58-year-old mechanic, currently running a fuel station in Carvoeiro. Accompanying him were two friends who were also businessmen, Vítor Santos and Jorge Costa, as well as Jorge’s 17-year-old son, Cristiano, and the president of JSD Lagoa, Gonçalo Oliveira, Vítor’s grandson, who had celebrated his 21st birthday just the day before the accident.
The group was known to have gone to Monchique for breakfast, a common practice among the friends.
The causes of the accident are still under investigation, but visible marks on the road indicate that the driver likely made a sudden brake.
Accident on a section with a speed limit of 50 km/h
The accident occurred as the Jaguar descended the Monchique mountain, between Pocilgais and Barracão, shortly after a curve, in a zone with a speed limit of 50 kilometers per hour.
As it went out of control, the car struck the Carrasqueira stream’s bank but was not stopped. It veered off the road into the ravine and caught fire.
Speaking to journalists at the scene, Paulo Anjos, Commander of the Transit Detachment of the National Republican Guard (GNR), stated that the accident rate on that stretch “is not high,” although it is a mountainous area with curves.
Besides claiming the lives of all occupants, the crash sparked a fire that spread to the brush, necessitating intervention by several firefighters. The EN266 road was closed from about 12:46 p.m. until 6 p.m. following the incident.
PSD mourns the death of the JSD Lagoa leader
Gonçalo Oliveira, aged 21, president of the Social Democratic Youth (JDS) of Lagoa, was one of the five fatalities in the Sunday’s accident on EN266 in Monchique. The announcement was made by Cristóvão Norte, the president of PSD/Algarve, via Facebook.
“In today’s tragic accident in Monchique, which claimed five lives, Gonçalo Oliveira lost his life, just after celebrating his twenty-first birthday. It is a terribly sad and moving moment,” the statement read.
The JSD Lagoa president is remembered as “a very lucid young man, committed, with contagious civic engagement and inexhaustible generosity. He was studying law and had his life and dreams ahead of him. It was a privilege to hear him, to be his companion, albeit for such a brief time.”
“As President of PSD Algarve, I declare institutional mourning and extend my condolences to all of Gonçalo’s family and friends, as well as to all those who lost their lives,” concluded the politician.
