Women from Viana among those injured in an accident in Namibia that killed two Portuguese women

Two women from Afife, Viana do Castelo, were among those injured in the bus accident that yesterday killed two Portuguese tourists in Namibia.

One of the injured is Olga Vale, 68 years old, retired teacher, secretary of the Afife Parish Assembly and wife of the now deceased former president of the Afife Council, Manuel Vale.

“He broke both arms, a wrist on one and the radio on the other,” his daughter, Madalena Vale, told O MINHO, adding that her mother will undergo surgery this afternoon.

According to the same source, Olga Vale had embarked on the trip together with a group of around 20 people, including another friend, also from Afife, although residing in Porto. She will be in another hospital.

Madalena Vale says that she already spoke to her mother this morning, via video call, and that she seemed “in good spirits”.

The family is in close contact with the embassy to monitor the situation.

Deadly victims of Leça da Palmeira

As O MINHO reported, the accident in Namibia that yesterday involved buses with tourists and caused the death of two Portuguese women, from a group from the North of the country, caused injuries to 16 other national citizens, six of whom require some caution.

In a situation report made to the Lusa agency early this morning, José Cesário said that, in addition to the two dead, “16 people were recorded with various types of injuries, six of which require some care, but are not life-threatening” .

Four Portuguese people have already been discharged and “there are still 10 cases with minor injuries, which we hope can be discharged quickly”, added the official.

José Cesário also said that “there will be a third person who will have died, but he does not have Portuguese nationality”.

The Secretary of State had previously told Lusa that there were people of various nationalities involved in the accident and that the group of Portuguese tourists, from the North of the country, traveled through a travel agency.

From what O MINHO found out, the owner of the travel agency was a former teacher, from the Leça da Palmeira area, who started organizing these types of excursions with older people.

According to Correio da Manhã, the two Portuguese women who died were from Leça de Palmeira and among the injured were also the owner of the travel agency and the son of one of the fatal victims.

On Wednesday, the councilor for the Portuguese communities in the capital Windhoek confirmed that the accident occurred after 3pm (2pm in Lisbon), in the Kuiseb Valley, on the way to the largest sand dunes of Sossus Vley in the Namib Desert. .

The accident involved two buses, which were carrying 40 tourists, with at least 22 Portuguese tourists in one of the vehicles, said Manuel Coelho.