A tragic incident occurred in Lisbon early Sunday morning when six people were killed in a car fire following a collision. Speaking at the scene, Police Commissioner Dinarte Diniz stated that the accident happened “around 03:31” involving a BMW 520. The vehicle “hit a curb on Avenida das Forças Armadas and lost control, culminating in the crash.” The victims include “three women and three men.”
The incident was “witnessed by a police officer” assigned to the U.S. Embassy, who “contacted emergency services, but upon arrival, the vehicle was already ablaze and nothing could be done.”
Diniz added, “We are saddened by the six fatalities. At this moment, we have identified two of the men: one was the front passenger and the other the driver, both aged between 19 and 20. The identities of the remaining victims are yet to be confirmed.”
The car was a five-seater, and “information suggests there were two passengers in the front and four in the back,” according to Diniz. “The vehicle was completely burned, and it is unclear if seatbelts were used, but given the number of occupants, at least one may not have been wearing one.”
Diniz emphasized that the causes of the accident are under investigation by the PSP Traffic Accident Investigation Brigade and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. “It remains to be determined if the driver had a license, as only an ID card was found.”
The vehicle has been “removed to a Public Security Police lot,” and the “bodies were transported to the Institute of Legal Medicine (INML).” The commissioner noted that there is some indication that the young people knew each other, and some family members are present at the INML.
At the accident site in the Sete Rios area, the presence included PSP, INEM, doctors from the National Institute of Legal Medicine, and firefighters.
It is recalled that six individuals died in the crash of a light vehicle early on Sunday on Avenida das Forças Armadas in Lisbon, which caught fire following the collision. The victims are “reported to be young people aged between 18 and 20,” according to RTP.
[Updated at 13:32]
