Five dead in firefighting helicopter crash // Beach bars caught switching out cheaper olive oil
Portuguese news in English on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
Five dead in firefighting helicopter crash
Five National Guard servicemen are dead after a firefighting helicopter crashed into the Douro River east of Porto, Público reports. They were aged between 29 and 45 and three of them were from Lamego, near where the aircraft crashed. The helicopter was returning from fighting a fire when it crashed into the river on Friday, sparking days of searches, first for the men and then for the wreckage. The tail of the helicopter is due to be removed from the river today, Lusa reports. The commander of the Maritime Police in the North said the rotor was an important piece to recover for the investigation into the crash.
In a separate incident, a National Institute of Emergency Medicine helicopter tipped over on landing at a quarry near Vila Real, Público reports. The three people on board were only lightly injured after the chopper became disoriented in the dust at a low altitude, according to the National Authority of Emergency and Civil Protection.
Beach bars caught selling food gone bad, switching out olive oil
Six people have been named as formal suspects after authorities inspected 11 businesses on the beaches of Costa da Caparica, south of Lisbon, Lusa reports. Two of the operators were forced to close after the Maritime Police and Food and Economic Safety authority joint operation stretching from São João to Fonte da Telha late last month. Authorities said they found food unfit for consumption, olive oil bottles refilled with lower quality oil and stolen sound equipment.
Police forced to correct more false news
Police say they’ve seen an increase in false news and disinformation circulating on social networks and are warning people to take extra care, Público reports. Late last month, a post circulating on Twitter said the Public Security Police raided a building in Lisbon, finding “30 Algerians” “full of homemade bombs”. It was one of six bits of false information the organisation had to correct last month, ranging from the completely made-up to something shared out of context. The police force couldn’t give exact numbers but said such cases were increasing and it was increasingly being contacted by social media companies and users.
In brief
AIMA workers not taking part in overtime strike. The immigration services said the strike, which started last month, hadn't caused any delays as it worked through a large number of inherited cases. (Observador)
Thousands of people risk being removed from health centre lists. More than 300,000 people who don’t have all their data on the National User Registry will be contacted, but only if they have their phone number or email address registered. (Público)
Secretariat-General of Home Affairs Ministry burgled in the night. Police are investigating after several computers, including two used by managers, were taken after thieves scaled the under-construction building next door. Security cameras weren’t working.
‘I was in tears’: exhibition tells human stories of Portugal’s colonial legacy. A collaborative exhibition on display in Lisbon until the end of November tells the personal stories of Portuguese families of African descent while offering up an alternative to the images of one of Europe’s longest-lived colonial empires. (The Guardian, in English)
Foreign investment in real estate triples in 10 years. The Netherlands and Luxembourg are among the main countries of origin, in large part because they’re used as bases for tax benefits. (Diário de Notícias)
Official suspect named in investigation into Madeira fire. Public prosecutors said someone had been identified after police blamed the fire on the launch of fireworks by individuals at a big town celebration. (Diário de Notícias).
Two Portuguese cities among those with cleanest air in Europe. Faro and Funchal ranked third and fourth respectively in the European city air quality viewer. Uppsala and Umeå topped the list. Lisbon was 38th and Sintra 104th. (Diário de Notícias)
On a lighter note
Yes, this is obviously going to be about “MercaTinder”. I’m still yet to be convinced anyone is actually doing this but it’s certainly gone viral as hell. In short, TikTok is full of people assuring us that in Spain (and now in Portugal too) Gen Z is giving up on dating apps and instead heading to Mercadona from 7-8pm. Once there, they put a pineapple upside down in their shopping trolley and it’s game on, bumping trolleys to “match”. You can read more from Euronews in English here or check out the ridiculous number of Portuguese brands trying to cash in on the trend via Sapo here.
Bonus lighter note
For those who don’t care about dating apps or pineapples, here’s a video of a very cute grey seal recently spotted in Arrábida south of Lisbon, via SIC Notícias. It was previously spotted along the coast in Aveiro, Figueira da Foz, Nazaré and the Cascais beaches. Authorities said it was healthy and warned people not to bother it.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2003116806620047
On a Paralympic note
Portugal has already landed two golds and a bronze at the Paralympic Games in Paris. Miguel Monteiro was the first winner, claiming gold and a Paralympic record in the shotput F40, a category for short-statured athletes, Observador reports. Soon after, Cristina Gonçalves claimed gold in the boccia, a bocce-like sport with no Olympic counterpart, 20 years after doing so previously in Athens, Tribuna Expresso reports. Then it was time for Diogo Cancela to hit the pool, claiming bronze in the 200m individual medley SM8, Público reports. Here they all are posing together.