A family of Portuguese emigrants who lost their lives in an accident on the IP2 in Castro Verde in the early hours of Saturday leaves behind another daughter who is in the United Kingdom and who called the National Republican Guard (GNR) due to concerns over the lack of response from her relatives.
This call was crucial in identifying the victims who were burned beyond recognition after the car they were traveling in caught fire following the crash.
The family, originally from Mourão and residing in England, comprised four members along with the partner of one of the sons. This information emerged late yesterday afternoon, hours after the accident when the bodies were eventually identified.
In the car rented at Faro airport were the father, aged 55, the mother, aged 51, their twin sons, born in England, aged 20, and the girlfriend of one of them, a 19-year-old Polish woman.
They had just arrived in Portugal for a vacation, rented the vehicle at Faro airport, and were heading towards Mourão, where they have a house.
A 26-year-old man from Almodôvar also died in this accident and was the sole occupant of the other vehicle involved in the head-on collision between two passenger cars on the IP2 near Castro Verde, in the district of Beja. He was a young goalkeeper for the Núcleo Sporting Clube de Portugal de Castro Verde association.
Associação lamentou, este sábado, o falecimento de Rúben, em consequência de uma colisão entre dois ligeiros junto à vila de Casével, em Castro Verde.
Luis Júnior | 15:13 – 09/08/2025
On its Facebook page, the Mourão City Council in the district of Évora expressed grief over the death of four of the town’s children and declared two days of municipal mourning, to be observed on Sunday and Monday.
A municipality source confirmed that the deceased family was composed of the husband, a 55-year-old man, the wife, aged 51, and their twin sons, aged 20, with the 19-year-old Polish girl being the girlfriend of one of the youths.
“The municipality, in coordination with the family and authorities, namely the local GNR post in Castro Verde, officially learned of the identification of the vehicle’s license plate, confirming the identity of the passengers,” the social media post read.
According to the city council, four of the occupants had “Mourão origins” with the foreign girl having “a family relationship.” “Residing in England, they were traveling from Faro to Mourão for their usual and deserved vacations.”
Expressing condolences to the families and friends of the deceased victims, the Mourão City Council also announced that “all activities and events promoted by the municipality were canceled for the entire weekend.”
The head-on collision, resulting in six deaths, involved two passenger cars and occurred at kilometer 387.500 of the IP2, in the area of the town of Castro Verde, with the alert being raised to authorities at 2:06 a.m. on Saturday, a source from the Baixo Alentejo Sub-regional Command for Emergency and Civil Protection said.
The accident led to the closure of traffic on the IP2 for several hours, with road circulation resuming only in the early morning at 7:10 a.m., indicated sources from the sub-regional command and the GNR.
The bodies of the six fatalities were taken to the forensic services of Beja hospital.
In the morning, a GNR source said that the bodies of the five victims in the burnt vehicle were charred, revealing that the other deceased was a 26-year-old man.
A total of 36 personnel were deployed to the site, supported by 16 vehicles, including resources from the fire brigade, GNR, National Institute for Medical Emergency (INEM) – with an emergency and resuscitation medical vehicle and immediate life support ambulance – and the Estradas da Planície company, the road’s concessionaire.
