One of the workers on the Jerónimo Martins bus that was involved in an accident en route to Azambuja described the rescue efforts as “quick,” noting that he has since been released from the hospital.
Speaking to RTP1 as he left the hospital in Vila Franca de Xira, Ilídio Costa recounted that “everything happened very quickly.”
“I was sitting in the middle of the bus. When I felt the impact, the bus practically toppled over,” he recalled, explaining that he dislocated his shoulder and needed help to exit the overturned vehicle.
“I couldn’t move. [The firefighters] took me to the ambulance, and I came here,” he said, adding that he is now fine, though he experienced “a lot of pain” at the time of the accident.
He mentioned that some of his colleagues managed to walk out unaided, but most required assistance from the emergency services. “Many people needed help to get out,” he stated, noting he is unaware of certain details about the conditions of other colleagues, although some “were quite badly hurt.”
Regarding the rescue, the Jerónimo Martins employee confirmed that emergency responders “arrived immediately” and noted that the location was “very difficult” for evacuating people.
The worker added that this is a journey he makes daily and did not understand what caused the vehicle to crash. Among the dozens of injuries reported, three are considered serious,
In a statement, Jerónimo Martins indicated that the afternoon accident involving “the transportation service,” which they had outsourced, included 41 employees of the group.
The employees had departed from Santarém and were heading to the logistics distribution center in Azambuja, the group added.
Expressing regret over the accident, Jerónimo Martins emphasized that it is “monitoring the developments with concern,” having sent its “teams of doctors, nurses, psychologists, and human resources professionals, who are fully available to the authorities for whatever is needed” to the scene.
