Two Quebec women died Saturday after being struck by a train while traveling in Portugal.
guylaine boulanger, 62, recently retired from a career as a postal worker, and Élise Bénard, 66, were hit by a train around 11 a.m. in Mesão Frio, approximately 83 kilometers north of Porto.
“She was very appreciated, popular and warm… In short, her departure is strongly felt, both on the deaf and deaf side,” said Elie Presseault, a former colleague of Boulanger.
According to CNN Portugal, the women had been taking photos of an approaching train near a level crossing close to the Baqueiro station. They were traveling with two other friends.
Serge Adam, a cousin of Bénard, stated, “We don’t understand what happened, they may not have heard the train. yet Élise had devices that helped him a little.” Adam also noted that his cousin lost her hearing due to a childhood accident.
“She was comical, she was a good living. It snatched my heart when I learned that,” Adam added.
Bénard and another friend, Mme Baker, were frequent travel companions. Social media posts from days before the accident show the two women smiling.
The deaths have deeply impacted the deaf community in Montreal, according to Presseault, who is also hearing impaired.
This marks the second fatal accident involving Quebecers in Portugal this month. On September 3, archeology experts André Bergeron and Blandine Daux died in a funicular derailment in Lisbon.
