The Commander-in-Chief of the GNR, Lieutenant Colonel Rui Ribeiro Veloso, has been with the families since early on and will also attend the remaining funerals, which will have state honors.
The President of the Republic, the President of the Assembly of the Republic, the Prime Minister, and other political representatives are present at the Church of Santa Cruz in Lamego, joining hundreds of people who, both inside and outside the place of worship, wanted to pay tribute to the victims.
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, followed by the President of the Assembly of the Republic, Aguiar Branco, and the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, arrived at roughly two-minute intervals, without making statements.
The Church of Santa Cruz in Lamego, in the district of Viseu, is packed with family and friends of the two National Republican Guard (GNR) soldiers who died following the crash of a helicopter in the Douro River on Friday.
The religious ceremony, presided over by the Bishop of Lamego, António Couto, is also attended by various civil and military authorities, as well as representatives of political parties who came from various parts of the country to pay tribute.
Upon arrival at the Church of Santa Cruz, the high-ranking officials were received by the commander of the GNR Territorial Command of Viseu, Lieutenant Colonel Adriano Resende.
Outside the church, which is adjacent to the barracks of the Special Operations Force (FOE), known as Rangers, based in Lamego, comrades of the UEPS (Emergency Protection and Rescue Unit) soldiers and hundreds of civilians gathered.
A third funeral will take place today in Lamego, in the parish of Sande, and at the same time, 18:00, a fourth funeral in the parish of Rua, in Moimenta da Beira. The fifth soldier, whose body was found on Saturday afternoon, will have funeral ceremonies on Monday in Castro Daire.
A source from the Prime Minister’s office in Lamego told Lusa news agency that Luís Montenegro will also be present in Castro Daire at 16:00.
Earlier today in Aveiro, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had already told journalists that he would be present to “express to the families and communities (…) the sorrow of the Portuguese people who understand the importance of the contribution of those soldiers, those security servants, who were on a mission, the mission had not ended.”
The forest firefighting helicopter crashed into the Douro River on Friday, near the town of Samodães, Lamego, carrying a pilot and a team of five soldiers 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.
On Friday, the bodies of four GNR soldiers were located. The fifth was found on Saturday afternoon after intense searches in the area.
The causes of the accident are not yet known.
The Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft Accidents and Railway Accidents (GPIAAF), a Portuguese State body, has a team on the ground investigating the accident.
