The Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 13th December 2023
by Mike Evans
Good morning to you all as we reach the end of the year a rather sombre report has just reached our desk and shows that the number of road accidents has increased again year on year.
According to a report published by Lusa yesterday, More than 123,000 road accidents occurred on Portuguese roads this year, causing 442 deaths and 2,279 serious injuries, an increase in all accident indicators compared to the same period in 2022. Provisional data, to which the Lusa agency had access, indicate that the PSP and GNR recorded, between January 1st and December 11th of this year, 123,391 road accidents, 442 fatalities, 2,279 serious injuries and 38,548 minor injuries. Compared to the same period in 2022, there were 7,556 more accidents (6.5%), five more deaths (1.1%), 147 more serious injuries (6.8%) and 2,039 more (5.5%).
However, when compared to 2019, the reference year for monitoring the targets set by the European Commission and Portugal to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries by 2030, all road accident indicators decreased this year, with the exception of serious injuries. that has increased.
The highest number of accidents this year occurred in the districts of Lisbon, with a total of 22,170, followed by Porto (21,647), Braga (10,554), Aveiro (10,178), Setúbal (10,040) and Faro (9,306). In turn, the district with the fewest accidents was Bragança, with 1,254.
The data also shows that Porto was the district where the most fatalities were recorded, with 49, with 48 deaths occurring in Setúbal, 43 in Lisbon, 34 in Braga and 32 in Faro.
With the festive holidays approaching it is important we all make sure, if we are on the roads that we take extra care as the amount of traffic will be much higher than usual.
Now a look at some of the stories that have happened in the Region in the past week.
Drought Situation Worsened in November across the South.
According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), there was an increase in the area of mainland Portugal in the weak drought class, from 12.8% in October to 19.4% in November in the southern region, covering the entire district of Faro, Beja and a large part of the district of Setúbal. According to IPMA, there are four types of drought: meteorological, agricultural, hydrological and socioeconomic.
With regard to the percentage of water in the soil, the institute states that there was an increase in the northern, central and Alto Alentejo regions, with values above 80%.
In Baixo Alentejo and Algarve, some regions had values between 20 and 40%.
Data from the bulletin indicate that the month of November was classified as very hot in terms of air temperature and normal in terms of precipitation (122.2 millimetres).
Last month was considered the 9th hottest in the last 93 years (hottest in 1981) and the 2nd hottest since 2000.
Ryanair Plane Makes Emergency Landing at Faro Airport
A Ryanair plane with 164 people on board departed this morning for Faro airport, after it had to make an emergency landing, due to an engine failure, a Civil Protection source revealed .
According to the same source, the plane, a Boeing 737, was flying from Manchester, in the United Kingdom, to the Spanish island of Tenerife, having been diverted to Faro en route, where it landed safely. At 9:20 am, a group of 82 operatives supported by 35 vehicles were mobilised to the location, who ended up not having to intervene, having already been demobilised.
According to information from ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, the aircraft landed safely at 9:45 am, with the airport’s emergency plan appropriate to this type of situation having been activated.
GNR Detained 29 people in Quarteira
The GNR detained 29 people in various actions to combat crime in the city of Quarteira , in the municipality of Loulé , between Thursday and Sunday, the police corporation announced.
The detainees are aged between 19 and 68 and were approached following inspection actions, in various locations in the city, with the aim of preventing and repressing crime, said the Faro Territorial Command of the GNR in a statement.
Eighteen people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and eight for driving without a legal licence, with the facts being referred to the Loulé Court, explained the same source, without mentioning the reason that led to the arrest of the remaining three. “Through these actions, the National Republican Guard intends to combat crime and strengthen the population’s sense of security, whilst also seeking to prevent criminal offences”, explained the security force.
Two Men Arrested for Theft from Vehicle
Two suspects were arrested on Tuesday, December 5th, for theft inside a vehicle and subsequent purchase of goods using stolen cards in Olhão , announced the Public Security Police (PSP). The arrest was made by the Olhão Police Station, after being warned about the misuse of stolen bank cards.
The police quickly went to the establishment where the suspect was making purchases, as he was trapped there. The PSP ended up finding out that there was another suspect who was involved in the theft and intercepted him inside another commercial establishment, hiding in the bathroom. The two suspects had in their possession several of the victim’s bank cards, as well as personal objects and purchased products, worth one thousand euros.
The suspects were subject to the coercive measure of Identity and Residence Term and periodic appearances at a police establishment, respectively.
Man Arrested for Drug Trafficking in Armação de Pêra
A 26-year-old man, suspected of drug trafficking, was arrested on Tuesday, the 5th, in Armação de Pêra, in the municipality of Silves , with the GNR seizing 344 doses of drugs, it was announced today. The arrest occurred following a complaint “regarding an illegal occupation of property, threats and theft”, and after the military detected “a strong odor” of drugs at the scene, the Territorial Command of the GNR of Faro said in a statement.
During a home search carried out by members of the Criminal Investigation Unit (NIC) of the GNR of Silves, 136 doses of cocaine, 208 of hashish, communications devices and material used to package the drug were seized.The detainee will be present at the Silves Court to be heard in the first judicial interrogation and for the application of possible coercive measures, concludes that security force.
Man Arrested for Falsifying Identities and Moving illicit Money
The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a man suspected of aggravated document forgery, qualified fraud and money laundering, who used false identities to open bank accounts and move amounts obtained illegally. The arrest of the 45-year-old suspect was carried out outside of the act, under the scope of an investigation conducted by the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP) of Faro , with the collaboration of the GNR of Mértola, the PJ said in a statement.
“The detainee’s criminal activity consisted of setting up companies, which had no activity whatsoever, using several false identities, in the name of which he opened dozens of bank accounts in credit institutions based in the national territory”, said the police force. .
The same source clarified that, once the accounts were opened, they received “transfers of large amounts” that had been “obtained illicitly”, through the use of cyber attacks “commonly known as ‘man-in-the-middle’ or ‘CEO- Fraud’ (Business Email Compromise)”.
The PJ stressed that the suspect sought to conceal the illicit origin of the amounts credited and made transfers to other bank accounts, “receiving a percentage of the transactions carried out”.
During the steps that led to the identification and arrest of the suspect, investigators found and seized “significant pieces of evidence”, but are still continuing the investigation “with a view to delimiting the extent of this criminal activity”, said the Judiciary Police.
The detainee will be brought before the court for the first judicial interrogation and, at the end, will learn about any coercive measures applied, the PJ also pointed out.
PJ Arrests Suspect of Attacking Brother with Chainsaw in Odeceixe
The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a man suspected of having attacked his brother with a chainsaw, on Tuesday, in Odeceixe ( Aljezur ), causing serious injuries, it was announced today. In a statement, the PJ revealed that the attacker, a 28-year-old man, a woodcutter by profession, is charged with attempted murder.
According to the police, the attacks occurred after an argument between the two brothers, with the detainee, armed with a chainsaw, undoing the door of the container where the victim was lying, “attacking her and striking her several times with that instrument” .
The victim was treated at the Portimão Hospital, but “the severity of the injuries” led to his transfer to the Santa Maria Hospital, in Lisbon, said the police.
The man will be brought before the court to be heard in the first judicial interrogation and for the application of possible coercive measures, in an investigation supervised by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Lagos .
The operation by the Criminal Investigation Department (DIC) of Portimão of the PJ had the collaboration of the GNR Territorial Post of Lagos.