The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, said that the Government, “in conjunction with the President of the Republic, decided to declare a day of national mourning, Friday the 20th, to express on behalf of the Portuguese people our deep regret and solidarity with the tragic victims of the major fires that affected Portugal, in the centre and north of the country, during this week”.

The Minister extended his words of regret and solidarity to the families of the victims, their communities and the fire brigades.

“They in particular fell in combat. As their motto says, they gave their lives for our lives in defence of the lives of others, of property, of nature, of our country. We are very grateful for this fight. We feel great sorrow and pain, shared by the Portuguese people, for the loss of human lives caused by these major fires this week”, said Leitão Amaro.

The minister also thanked “all those who are still fighting” and assured the government of a “rapid response in recovery and support for the affected populations, companies, local authorities, fire brigades and all those who suffered most closely from these major fires”.

The last time the Government declared national mourning was on 31 August, in honour of the GNR who died in an accident involving a firefighting helicopter that crashed in the Douro River, in Lamego.

The law of precedence of the Portuguese State Protocol determines that “national mourning is declared for the death of the President of the Republic, the President of the Assembly of the Republic and the Prime Minister, and also for former Presidents of the Republic, as well as for the death of a person or the occurrence of an event of exceptional relevance”.

Seven people died and 161 were injured due to the fires that have been raging since Sunday, mainly in the North and Centre regions of the country, in the districts of Aveiro, Porto, Vila Real, Braga, Viseu and Coimbra, and which have destroyed dozens of houses.

The National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) has recorded five deaths, excluding from the count two civilians who died of sudden illness.

The area burned in mainland Portugal since Sunday exceeds 121 thousand hectares, according to the European Copernicus system, which shows that in the North and Centre regions, more than 100 thousand hectares have already burned, 83% of the area burned in the entire national territory.