The Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 24th July 2024
by Mike Evans
A very warm welcome to you all and with the current temperatures along the Algarve in the high 30’s I am sure we are all looking at ways to stay cool. If you have any special ideas please let us know through our facebook page.
Last week l started the report by highlighting the extra traffic we can now expect on our roads due to the influx of tourists. Well, this week has been a particularly bad week on the roads with the GNR recording a total of 230 accidents in the Faro district alone last week, resulting in three deaths, four serious injuries and 38 minor injuries, it was announced on Monday.
In a statement, the GNR’s Faro Territorial Command states that, in the week of July 15 to 21, 517 traffic violations were detected, the majority of which were for speeding (90).
That security force also made 46 arrests, namely, 18 for driving under the influence of alcohol, 11 for driving without a legal licence and nine for drug trafficking shows that there really is no hiding place for those who feel they can flout the law. During the same period, the GNR seized 165 doses of heroin, 45 of hashish and 15,860 euros, the note concludes.
The three deaths in the week were as a result of a crash between two motorbikes at the start of the Bike Fest in Faro. More details of this in the report following.
Woman of 45 dies in a house on the island of Armona
A 45-year-old woman died in the early hours of this Tuesday, in a house on the island of Armona, in the municipality of Olhão, with the causes of this occurrence unknown.
Upon arrival at the scene, it was found that “it was a 45-year-old woman, who was promptly assisted by INEM personnel, who performed resuscitation manoeuvres”.
“As it was not possible to reverse the situation, death was declared on site by the INEM doctor, and the body was later transported to the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in Faro, after contact with the Public Prosecutor’s Office”, can be read in the note published by AMN .
The Maritime Police Psychology Office has been activated. The local command of the Maritime Police of Olhão took charge of the incident.
Albufeira urges beachgoers to keep safe distance from cliffs
With the arrival of summer, Albufeira has resumed its yearly awareness campaign in which it warns beachgoers about the dangers of cliffs.
It’s been 15 years since a family of five was killed by falling rocks on Albufeira’s Maria Luísa beach, but the impact of the tragedy is still felt today.
In an effort to avoid similar tragedies from occurring, the local council organises an awareness campaign every summer, targeted at beachgoers who may be unaware of just how unstable cliffs at Algarve beach can be. They are advised to respect the signposting at beaches and the safety distances indicated in order to “avoid risky behaviour and possible accidents.” “Prevention is the best way of avoiding accidents,” says Albufeira mayor José Carlos Rolo, adding that the awareness campaign which the council carries out every year during the bathing season shows its commitment to the issue of beach safety.
“Albufeira is and we want it to continue to be known as a safe destination,” the mayor states.
The campaign is carried out with the support of Portugal’s maritime authority (AMN), maritime police, the lifeguard association of Albufeira (ANSA), as well as the Albufeira public health unit, which this year is also using the opportunity to warn beachgoers about the risks of sun exposure.
“Albufeira has 30 kilometres of coastline, surrounded by cliffs of rare beauty, being the municipality in the country with the biggest number of Blue Flags raised (25), which proves the environmental excellence of its beaches.
However, the natural erosion process which they are subjected to puts them in risky situations, increasing the danger of rock falls,” the council warns in a statement to the press. “Every summer, or even outside of the bathing season it is common to see people walking atop the cliffs, seeking their shade or doing poses to take a selfie near a pretty rock formation, showing a lack of knowledge about the dangers they are facing,” it adds, explaining that the awareness campaign, which also sees flyers being handed out to beachgoers in Portuguese and English, aims to make sure beachgoers are well-aware of the possible consequences of these risky behaviours.
“Thus, for your safety, whenever you go to the beach, follow the advice of the municipal civil protection service: choose beaches with surveillance; do not remain at the top or base of cliffs and don’t park at the top of them; avoid risky access routes through cliffs to the beach ; respect the recommendations of lifeguards; stay away from areas where there are loose rocks or fissures; do not use the area near cliffs to seek cover from the sun and wind,” the council adds.
Faro bikers’ Festival marked by tragedy as 3 Die in Road Accident
Two men and a young woman died yesterday afternoon in a head-on collision between two motorbikes, close to the site of Faro’s ongoing bikers’ festival. According to police, the victims were all wearing the kind of kit that suggests they were in Faro for the iconic event.
The accident happened around 5.45pm on the road giving access to Praia de Faro. “The origin was a poorly-affected overtaking manoeuvre by one of the drivers who collided with the other motorbike which was travelling in the opposite direction”; GNR major Paulo Anjos of the Faro traffic brigade told Correio da Manhã.
The woman, who was a pillion passenger on one of the bikes, was subject to reanimation efforts at the scene, and transported already ventilated to Faro Hospital, “but did not survive the gravity of her injuries”.
Both men, aged 31 and 49, were killed outright. The victims have not yet been identified, but the woman and driver of one of the bikes are understood to have come from Santarém.
Traffic was halted in both directions for roughly two hours yesterday evening as the victims, their bikes and all the debris from the accident was logged and then removed from the scene. Police have since redoubled appeals for caution. “In events like these, the volume of traffic is always greater, and people should drive at reduced speeds”, reminds Major Anjos – also warning against bikers’ drinking alcohol and then taking to the road, stressing that drinking and then driving two-wheeled vehicles increased the likelihood of accidents even further than for drivers on four wheels.
Two Suspected Drug Dealers Arrested in Lagos
Two suspected drug dealers were arrested by PSP police in Lagos on Tuesday (July 16).
The arrests, which followed an investigation that had been ongoing for “around half a year”, are expected to have a “strong impact on the reduction of situations of drug trafficking in the town of Lagos,” the Faro PSP district command said in a statement to the press.
The suspects are also believed to have dealt drugs in neighbouring boroughs and to have supplied other dealers in the area, aside from selling the drugs directly to consumers themselves, the statement adds.
The investigation led to a police operation this week which involved “several house searches and non-house searches”, resulting in the confiscation of huge quantities of drugs, including “enough heroine for 21.839 individual doses and enough cocaine for 493 individual doses,” as well as a car and €1,100 in cash and other items related to their illegal activity.
The two suspects, aged 58 and 35, have already appeared before a judge, with one being remanded in custody and the other ordered to report weekly to police.
New Shops to Help Foreigners Obtain Official Documents
Foreign citizens will now have a single place they can visit to obtain tax, social security and health system user numbers.
Minister of Youth and Modernisation, Margarida Balseiro Lopes announced this new measure, at the end of a meeting of the first Council of Ministers at the Faculty of Science and Technology of Universidade Nova, in Almada earlier this week.
Among the 15 new measures approved at the meeting, the minister highlighted the recent issues with foreign citizens trying to obtain identification numbers for the tax, social security and national health systems.
“We know that the Finanças, Social Security offices and Citizen’s Shops, have been faced with long queues” and “we have thousands of foreign citizens living in Portugal who are unable to access something as basic as a Tax Identification Number (NIF), a Social Security Number (NISS) or a Health System Number (SNS Utente) “, she said. Therefore, “what we are going to do now in 2024 is have a single place where citizens will have access to the three identification numbers, in the Citizen Spaces – this is a measure for this year, in the last quarter of 2024”, explained Margarida Balseiro Lopes.
“We will make this service available in the Citizen Space of each town (Espaço Cidadão)”, explained the minister. The project is being implemented by AMA (Agency for Administrative Modernization) and AIMA (Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum), and is expected to ease the workload of the people who work in the current entities that issue these numbers.
Defibrillator saves Young Tourists Life in Albufeira
A 27 year old Irish man on holiday in Albufeira, who fell ill in the early hours of Monday morning, was immediately assisted by friends using the nearby Automatic External Defibrillator.
The incident happened close to the intersection of Avenida Sá Carneiro and Rua José Fontana, where the AED booth is located.
Friends of the man suspected a cardiorespiratory arrest and began resuscitation using the device until the arrival of a rescue team from the Albufeira Volunteer Firefighters, who managed to resuscitate the victim. The INEM Emergency and Resuscitation Medical Vehicle (VMER) was also called, and the victim was transported to Faro Hospital, conscious.
Albufeira was the first municipality in the Algarve to implement a community-based Automatic External Defibrillator program, certified by INEM, which allows lives to be saved in the event of cardiorespiratory arrest.
The “Albufeira + Segura” project operates 11 AED booths, equipped with automatic defibrillators, installed at strategic points on the public roads, plus two portable defibrillators – one given to the Municipal Police and the other to the Fire Department.
Launched in October 2017, the program initially trained 71 citizens, who voluntarily attended training in basic life support and automatic defibrillation, taking on the commitment to develop the network of equipment and integrate a greater number of community first responders. Currently, there are now around 900 AED operators assigned to the program, and by the end of the year, 12 more booths will be installed on the public roads of Albufeira.
The Albufeira Volunteer Firefighters and the GNR are the main partners of the program, being the first group of local first responders, with the advantage of being on the ground 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
15 Year Old Canadian Tourist Rescued from Ocean near Lagoa
A 15 year old Canadian man was rescued on Monday afternoon, after jumping from a cliff into the water, at Carvalho beach, in Lagoa.
The alert was received by the Maritime Police at 5pm, through a member of the public who was on the beach, reporting that a young man had severe pain in his legs after jumping from a cliff into the water.
Members of the Portimão Maritime Police, crew from the Ferragudo Life Saving Station and crew from the Lagoa Volunteer Fire Department were dispatched to the scene.
On arrival, “it was found that the victim had been removed from the water by bathers who were on the beach, and that he had severe pain in his lower limbs, meaning they had had to drag the teenager from the sea. After stabilising the young man, with the support of the lifeguards on duty on the beach, the crew from the Ferragudo Lifeguard Station transported him to the Lifeguard Station pier, where crew of the INEM Emergency and Resuscitation Medical Vehicle were already waiting.”
The ambulance team promptly attended to the victim, who was subsequently transported to the hospital by the Lagoa Volunteer Firefighters.
And finally to end this report a word of warning to anyone who is a resident here and lives in another country for a period of time and owns a car with a foreign number plate.
During the summer, it is common to see cars with foreign licence plates driving on Portuguese roads. However, for these vehicles to be legally admitted and driven in Portugal, some specific rules must be followed.
Firstly, these rules apply exclusively to vehicles permanently registered in a European Union country — Switzerland, for example, is not included. Furthermore, to benefit from the tax exemption, the vehicle owner must prove permanent residence outside Portugal. The law is quite restrictive regarding who can drive a car with a foreign licence plate in Portugal. Only the following people are authorised:
Anyone who does not reside in Portugal;
The owner or holder of the vehicle and his/her family members (spouses, de facto partners, ascendants and descendants in the first degree);
Another person in cases of force majeure (e.g. breakdown) or as a result of a contract for the provision of professional driving services.
It is important to note that it is forbidden to drive a car with a foreign licence plate if you are an emigrant and bring the car from your country of residence to stay permanently in Portugal. In these cases, you have a period of 20 days to legalise the vehicle after entering the country. It is also not permitted to keep a car with a licence plate from your country of origin in Portugal if you live alternately in Portugal and in your country of residence.
A foreign-registered car can be in Portugal for a maximum of 180 days (six months) per year (12 months). These days do not have to be consecutive. For example, if a foreign-registered car is in Portugal during January and March (around 90 days) and only returns in June, it can still legally circulate in the country, tax-free, for another 90 days. If it reaches the accumulated 180 days, it will have to leave the country and will only be able to return at the beginning of the following year. During this 180-day period, the vehicle is exempt from paying taxes in Portugal, in accordance with article 30 of the Vehicle Tax Code.
Regarding insurance, compulsory third party liability insurance is valid in all countries of the European Union, as explained by Razão Automóvel . However, additional coverage may be limited in time and distance or even excluded, depending on the country where the vehicle is being driven and the level of risk associated with it. In these cases, it is advisable to contact the insurer to confirm that all the coverage contracted is in force in the destination country.
Complying with these rules is essential to avoid legal problems and ensure safe and smooth driving in Portugal with a foreign-registered car.
Have a good week.