At this moment, we have not been successful in the search for the missing military personnel, and we will have to interrupt because safety conditions are no longer favorable for underwater searches,” announced Silva Lampreia.
In statements to journalists around 20:45, the Navy commander added that they will start the searches tomorrow [Saturday] as soon as the sun rises, meaning that around 06:00, the teams will be in the area to prepare and resume the search.
“The searches took place in the area where the aircraft is resting on the river bottom, and searches were carried out in the perimeter and surrounding areas to try to locate” the 29-year-old GNR officer, the only one still missing.
Silva Lampreia added that they will maintain “searches on the banks, on-foot searches, and some night surveillance in the area” and “some night surveillance on the banks to try to locate the missing military personnel who, for some reason, may have managed to reach the shore.”
“We have a missing military member, and we are making every effort to try to locate him as soon as possible because he may be somewhere needing help,” he added.
The commander also said that “water visibility is not good and should remain the same” on Saturday, but “there are diving techniques for underwater searches that allow us to overcome these limitations.”
Silva Lampreia mentioned that the searches are an “evolving process,” and in this sense, he clarified that the area in the vicinity of the wreckage is being searched and will “increase, progressing in the direction of the current, downstream, in order to expand the search areas to find the missing person.”
Regarding the four victims, “they have already been removed and will be transported to the Institute of Legal Medicine” in Porto.
“Experts from the aircraft accident office are already in the area and will investigate the reasons that led to the aircraft’s crash,” said the commander.
When asked about the operation to remove the helicopter from the water, Silva Lampreia said it “will not be a very difficult procedure.”
“At the moment, we have the forensic diving group diving to retrieve some information and conduct police examinations to assess the situation. As soon as the forensic diving group declares the aircraft as fully investigated, we will proceed with removing the aircraft from the water,” he emphasized.
On Saturday, various diving teams from various authorities and the armed forces will remain.
“We will not rest until we find the missing comrade,” he stressed.
The GNR spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Mafalda Almeida, added that “the Guard family is in mourning” and maintains “hope that the military personnel can be found” so that it is possible to provide “some comfort to the family.”
“We also have various psychology teams on the ground, and at this moment, what concerns us is the well-being of our military personnel and the families who are in mourning,” she said.
The forest firefighting helicopter crashed into the Douro River around 12:50, near the town of Samodães, Lamego, and was transporting a pilot and a team of five military personnel from the Emergency Protection and Rescue Unit (UEPC) who were returning from a fire in the municipality of Baião.
The aircraft pilot was rescued alive with only minor injuries.
So far, the bodies of four GNR military personnel have been located, with one other member still missing, aged between 29 and 45, three from Lamego, one from Moimenta da Beira, and another from Castro Daire, in the district of Viseu.
The causes of the accident are not yet known.
The Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft Accidents and Railway Accidents has a team on the ground investigating the accident.
The crashed helicopter, an AS350 – Écureuil model, is operated by the company HTA Helicópteros, based in Loulé, Algarve.
