Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 22nd November 2023
by Mike Evans
A very good day to you all. With the weather due to get cooler in the next few weeks, it is probably a good time to get rid of any old garden waste as the fire risk is very low. This year has been one of the best on record for the lack of rural fires across the whole of Portugal including the Algarve, more on this further in this report, so make sure if you are burning waste that you follow the rules and stay safe.
With Christmas approaching, Safe Communities hosted an event in Sao Bras de Alportel. The event organised by Safe Communities Portugal and Amigos do Museu do Traje São Brás de Alportel was well attended with just under 50 participants. We were grateful that Marlene de Sousa Guerreiro Vice-Presidente Câmara da Municipal de São Brás de Alportel and Coronel Carlos Almeida GNR Commander Faro District Territorial Command were able to attend.
Presenters were Dr.ª Raquel Viana Head of the Communication, Innovation and Special Projects Division, Autoridade Nacional de Segurança Rodoviária (ANSR) and Capitão Samuel Afonso, GNR, Comando Territorial de Faro, who both delivered really excellent presentations in English that were very well received by the audience. These covered very wide topics concerning crime prevention and road safety and the operations planned over the Christmas and New Year periods.
Now a look at some of the stories from around the region for the past couple of weeks.
Man dies in collision between motorcycle and car in Castro Marim
A 47-year-old man died today following a collision between a motorcycle and a light vehicle on Estrada Nacional 122 (EN122) in Castro Marim.
According to a source from the Algarve Sub-regional Emergency and Civil Protection Command, the accident, which occurred in the town of Azinhal, also caused two minor injuries. The collision, for which an alert was given at 3:46 pm, forced the road to be closed until 5:15 pm, he said.
There were 17 operatives on site accompanied by six vehicles and a helicopter, the source concluded.
Three Motorcyclists die on the Algarve Roads within 12 hours at the Weekend
Three young motorcyclists lost their lives in the Algarve in three separate accidents last weekend, two of the motorcyclists lost control of their vehicles on the EN124-1, between Silves and Lagoa and the third on the IC2, in Salir, Loulé.
The alert for the first accident was given early in the evening, at the roundabout on the EN124-1, between Silves and Lagoa, near the access to the A22. Rogério Marques, from Lagoa, aged 36, was assisted at the scene by emergency services, but died soon after at Portimão Hospital.
Almost simultaneously, “about a kilometre away, another motorcyclist, Rafael Candeias, 28 years old, from Bensafrim, Lagos, who belonged to the same group of friends as the first victim, suffered a crash on the junction between the EN124-1 and the EN125. His death was pronounced at the scene.
The last fatal incident occurred at 9:39am and took the life of 29 year old Miguel Bentes, this time at the IC2, in Salir, Loulé. Death was pronounced at the scene.
The GNR Criminal Investigation Unit for Road Accidents is investigating the circumstances of the three fatal accidents.
Two arrested for drug trafficking in Carvoeiro
Two 28-year-old men were arrested this Friday, November 17th, in Carvoeiro , in the municipality of Lagoa , for drug trafficking, announced the National Republican Guard. The arrest was made by the Faro Territorial Command, through the Carvoeiro Territorial Post, during a patrol.
The military noticed that two men were inside a vehicle demonstrating suspicious behaviour, and proceeded to carry out an inspection. During the action, the occupants showed some nervousness and 16 doses of cannabis and 15 doses of hashish were seized.
The detainees were accused and the facts were communicated to the Portimão Judicial Court.
Collision between two vessels leaves four injured on the Gilão River
Two recreational boats collided during the night of Thursday, November 16, at the mouth of the Gilão River , in Tavira , causing four injuries, one of them serious, announced the National Maritime Authority. The alert was given by a member of the public at 8pm and members of the Tavira Maritime Police Local Command, Tavira Municipal Firefighters and INEM were immediately called to the scene.
Each of the vessels had two people on board, one of whom was thrown into the water and became unconscious.
A member of the public who witnessed the accident rescued the man from the water using a pleasure boat and immediately carried out resuscitation manoeuvres, transporting him to the Quatro-Águas pier. Firefighters subsequently continued to provide assistance to the victim and transported him to a hospital unit.
The people ended up returning to the scene and using a tow from one of the injured boats, they took it to land, where they were assisted by firefighters. The other vessel was later recovered and towed ashore by the Maritime Police, finding itself out of control.
The Tavira Maritime Police Local Command took charge of the incident, having seized the vessels as a precautionary measure and means of evidence, initiating a maritime accident process to determine the causes of the accident.
28 violations detected at a campsite
The Faro Territorial Command of the National Republican Guard (GNR) detected 28 violations at a campsite in the municipality of Albufeira on November 11th , the security force announced. The infractions were detected through the Nature and Environment Protection Service of the Albufeira Territorial Detachment during an inspection action aimed at illegal camping.
87 campsites were inspected, which were found to be in non-compliance with the standards established for the installation of septic tanks.
During the action, 28 infraction notices were drawn up for non-compliance with these standards, which will be sent to the Portuguese Environment Agency.
Burnt area of 2800 hectares in the Algarve in 2023, well below expectations
The area burned in the Algarve in 2023, around 2,800 hectares (ha), is “much below” expectations given the meteorological severity of the region, affected by heat and extreme drought , highlighted the regional Emergency and Civil Protection commander.
“It’s a positive year. Within what was expected, we had a very positive year, well below the area that would be expected to be affected. Much lower, which is due to the efforts of all Civil Protection agents and forces that make up the device”, said Vítor Vaz Pinto, on the sidelines of the presentation of the balance of the Special Device to Combat Rural Fires in the Algarve.
In a year that was “particularly demanding from a meteorological point of view”, with high temperatures, lower than normal precipitation and all municipalities in severe or extreme drought, meteorological severity, a parameter that allows comparing the meteorological conditions to which fuels are subject, was “ very high” in the Algarve.
The weighted burned area for the region based on this meteorological severity “pointed to 17,800 hectares”, but in reality it was “considerably lower”, said the regional commander of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC).
“Only 16% of this expected area was affected, that is, just over 2,700 ha [2789.21 ha]. It is, in fact, quite significant and here you can see the work that was done by all the forces of the device”, highlighted Vítor Vaz Pinto.
Between January 1st and October 31st, 269 fires were recorded, which were ignited in the region and resulted in a burned area of 789.77 ha, according to published data.
Compared to the history of the previous 10 years, in 2023 there were 16% fewer rural fires and 44% less burned area compared to the annual average for that period.
Compared to last year, these values indicate a 28% increase in the number of fires and a 62% reduction in the total burned area.
On the other hand, the fire that broke out in August in the area of Baiona, municipality of Odemira, district of Beja, whose burned area was more than 7,500 ha, also affected the Algarve municipalities of Aljezur (1,635.85 ha) and Monchique ( 363 , 59 ha).
Of the 269 fires that broke out in the region, 259 were controlled in the initial attack, before reaching the 90 minutes counted from the time of the alert, and average dispatch times were recorded for resources of 50 seconds, “well below” the maximum fire time. two minutes scheduled for the entire continental territory.
In 2023, fires with a burned area of less than one hectare were the most frequent in the Algarve, representing 94% of the total, and there were only three fires with a burned area greater than 100 ha.
The investigation of all fires allowed the attribution of a cause for 161, the most frequent being misuse of fire (36% of the 269), accidental (14%) and arsonism (10%).
The ANEPC regional commander also highlighted the “substantial increase” in false alarms, which mostly correspond to authorised burning and represented 51.6% of the 556 occurrences between January 1 and October 31.
“Just because there are many false alarms, it does not mean that it is necessarily negative. This means that the population is more aware of these situations and naturally activates the system. […] I think it’s positive for people to activate the system and not wait. It is best to call 112, even if other people have done so, it is always preferable to communicate. The faster the alert arrives, the more likely it is that the fire will be put out”, maintained Vítor Vaz Pinto.
Algarve Fraudster Arrested in Brazil
Algarve fraudster Luís Estiveira, a 58 year old Portuguese businessman, who was on the run after being sentenced to seven years in prison for nine crimes of aggravated document forgery, has been arrested in Brazil.
The suspect was in a restaurant in the city of João Pessoa, Brazil, when he was detained by the Federal Police after being on the run, wanted by Portuguese police and with an Interpol Red Diffusion alert.
The Federal Police of Brazil reported that the arrest was carried out with the support of the Special Action Group Against Organized Crime (Gaeco/MPPB) and the Civil Police of Paraíba.
The businessman will be handed over to Brazilian authorities to be extradited to Portugal.
The Portimão court had convicted the man for using false bank guarantees to purchase fuel from oil companies, through the consignment system. Previously, he had already been convicted of the same crimes in Faro. The scheme, which took place in 2010 and 2011, was dismantled by the Judiciary Police (PJ) in 2014.
The forged bank guarantees, coming from a local bank, included the banking institution’s seal and the signatures of two administrators, allegedly forged by the defendant. To provide greater credibility, the guarantees were authenticated by a notary. Through this scheme, which involved the participation of three defendants, the businessman managed to acquire, from Sopor (currently Petrogal) and CEPSA, approximately one million euros in fuel, the supply of which was never paid for, according to reports.
At the time the trial was taking place, Luís Estiveira vehemently denied having falsified the bank guarantees, claiming to be the victim of a conspiracy on the part of the oil companies.
And Finally with the sad reports of the death of 4 motorcyclists on the Algarve Roads..
Motorcycle road safety campaign
The Christmas Campaign “And suddenly, everything changes!”, starts on Wednesday (15 November) with the aim of raising awareness among motorcyclists about reducing road accidents, according to the National Republican Guard (GNR).
Provisional data from ANSR indicates that in the period between January 1 of this year and August 31 there were 6,466 road accidents involving motorcycles, resulting in 85 fatalities.
Between January 2019 and August 2023, according to ANSR data, 35,233 road accidents involving motorcycles were recorded, resulting in 581 fatalities.
The campaign will run until December 15th and also aims to practise defensive driving and adopt safe behaviours on the road.
To everyone on the Roads, Stay Safe.