José Pereira, 73 years old, followed his wife and grandson, in carriage number six, from Lisbon to Campanhã, in Porto, and then continued on to his home in Vila do Conde.
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José Pereira, 73 years old, followed his wife and grandson, in carriage number six, from Lisbon to Campanhã, in Porto, and then continued on to his home in Vila do Conde.
As soon as the Alfa Pendular train started to derail after colliding with a work machine, in Soure, José Pereira felt a “shock” and just had the instinct to grab his grandson.
“It seemed that the train was going to stop, we walked there for a long minute, with all the people in a panic”, the passenger told the irons bursting ”.
The carriage, he added, “was all busted inside.”
Despite the initial panic over the derailment, the passenger stressed that everyone in his carriage managed to remain calm until the firefighters arrived.
“The calm of all the staff in helping each other was essential”, he stressed.
In his carriage, while the firemen were not coming and with no possibility of opening the doors, some passengers decided to break windows “to allow air in” and took “their bags, in the calm”, said José, who left practically unharmed, with only a few abrasions on the leg and arm.
His wife had “a chest problem – but nothing serious” and her grandson “a leg problem, but nothing serious”, said José Pereira, who was speaking at the command post, installed at the doors of the village of Soure , in the district of Coimbra.
“I already got some scares, but not like this one”, said José Pereira, who ended the interview to be called by a nurse, with his suitcase, to see the small wounds he had.
The derailment of an Alfa Pendular train, in the municipality of Soure, left two dead today (both Infrastructure workers in Portugal), six seriously injured and 19 slightly injured.
The convoy was going in a south-north direction and the derailment occurred after the collision between the Alfa Pendular and a working machine, the alert was given at 15:30, according to the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC).
The Alfa Pendular had left Santa Apolónia, in Lisbon, at 14:00, and had as final destination Braga.
The Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft Accidents and Railway Accidents (GPIAAF) has announced, however, that it will investigate the causes of the accident. Text Lusa Agency
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