Six people were injured after the vehicle they were travelling in was hit by a train at the Poço Barreto level crossing, just outside Silves at around 8:15 this morning.
The six occupants of the seven-seater vehicle were all Dutch, three men and three women, aged between 18 and 25 years old.
Three of the young people were in serious condition, the two most serious were taken by helicopter to Faro hospital. The remaining four were transported by ambulance, all to Faro Hospital.
The alert to emergency services was given at 8:17 am, with 31 members of the Silves and Lagoa Fire Department, INEM and GNR all dispatched to the scene.
The sub-regional commander of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority, Richard Marques, confirmed that “assistance to the people has been completed, with all of them having been removed from the scene, both the group of six injured people from the vehicle and the 24 passengers on the train”,
Due to the collision, the railway line was closed until the train had been removed from the line by Infraestruturas de Portugal. The track conditions were confirmed safe, and circulation on the Algarve Line was reestablished at around 11:30am.
