One dead and two children in critical condition in accident near Cartaxo

One person died and three are in critical condition, two of them children, as a result of the collision of three light vehicles that occurred today on National Road 3, in the Gaio area, Cartaxo (Santarém), said a Civil Protection source.

The alert was given at 8.56 am today, with one of the injured being transferred to Hospital de S. José, in Lisbon, and another to the District Hospital of Santarém.

The medical teams were, at around 10:30 am, still proceeding with the stabilization of the third victim before taking him to a hospital unit, said the source from the District Command of Relief Operations (CDOS) of Santarém.

There are still two lightly injured, he added.

There are 31 operators and 14 vehicles from the fire departments of Cartaxo, Azambuja, Alcoentre and Santarém (volunteers and firefighters), from the National Institute of Medical Emergency (two emergency and resuscitation vehicles from Santarém and Vila Franca de Xira, and one immediate life support at Centro Hospitalar do Médio Tejo), a psychological support team and the GNR.

A source from the GNR told Lusa that the EN3 is closed at the site, with traffic being diverted by the EN 365-2.

The accident occurred in the Cartaxo-Azambuja direction, he said.