Five people were trapped inside a jeep on Sunday evening when trying to cross the Ferreira River, a tributary of the Sousa River, in Gondomar. All occupants, including three children, were rescued with minor injuries and subsequently transported to São João Hospital in Porto.
What is known?
The incident began at around 6:08 p.m. when the Metropolitan Area of Porto Emergency and Civil Protection Command received the alert for the occurrence.
Inside the car were two adults—a man and a woman—and three minors aged 10, 14, and 16.
According to Civil Protection, by 9 p.m., “all five were conscious.”
Gondomar Mayor Luís Filipe Araújo stated to SIC Notícias that the car was “stuck in the middle of the Ferreira River” and that the water current was very strong.
The light vehicle became trapped in a hard-to-reach area, complicating the rescue operation.
Rescue lasted about four hours
After approximately four hours, the family was extracted from the vehicle around 10 p.m.
The five occupants, who had water up to chest level, sustained minor injuries and were transported to São João Hospital in Porto with signs of hypothermia.
On-site, in statements to reporters broadcasted by SIC Notícias, the fire brigade commander emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety of both the emergency responders and the vehicle occupants during the rescue.
“The current [of the river] was one risk, the other risk was that as soon as we began extracting the victims, the vehicle would lose weight, and with the current, could carry one or two victims,” explained the commander.
The São Pedro da Cova Volunteer Firefighters dispatched two ambulances, rescue teams, an INEM immediate life support vehicle, a team of psychologists, various vehicles, and firefighters from Areosa and Gondomar, along with Public Security Police (PSP), National Republican Guard (GNR), and Civil Protection officers, totaling about 50 responders, to a location described as having “plenty of water and a very strong current.”
Rescue personnel have since demobilized from the scene.
