Portugal’s worst train disaster

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Mar 4, 2026

Américo Borges, a volunteer fire station commander and local family doctor who was among the first responders to the 1985 Mangualde train disaster, gives vivid eyewitness testimony. He describes arriving to collapsing carriages, fighting intense fires and diesel leaks, desperate rescue attempts inside burning coaches, the emotional toll on volunteers, and how the catastrophe spurred changes in disaster medicine and rail safety.

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ANECDOTE

First Responder Arrived Within Minutes

Américo Borges arrived 15 minutes after the collision and found derailed carriages compressed from a 100 km/h head-on impact on a single-track section.
He entered burning coaches with a high-pressure hose and rescued at least one uninjured woman cut out through a window.

ANECDOTE

Miraculous Single Survivor In Compressed Carriage

Inside the first express carriage only one woman survived despite half the carriage being compressed behind the engine.
Américo crawled into the carriage, cut metal with special equipment, and found a calm, uninjured survivor who spoke reassuringly to rescuers.

ANECDOTE

Diesel Fires Spread To Nearby Forests

Leaking diesel from both trains caused fires that spread to nearby forest and a village, which volunteer crews managed to contain.
Americo's team fought blazes through the night then returned to assist the wreck site for two days.

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On 11 September 1985 in Mangualde, central Portugal, an express train collided head-on with a regional train killing an estimated 150 people.

The impact destroyed both engines and the leaking diesel caught fire. Many of the bodies were unidentifiable after passengers who survived the collision were trapped in the wreckage and unable to escape the blaze and toxic fumes.

An inquiry found both trains had been allowed to use the same single track line when the express should have had priority. A station master who realised the mistake was unable to contact the drivers in time.

Most of the victims’ remains are buried in a mass grave near the disaster site and a small chapel has now been built where memorial services take place every year.

Jacqueline Paine speaks to former voluntary fire station Commander Américo Borges who was one of the first on the scene.

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(Photo: Monument in memory of the Alcafache accident. Credit: Vitor Oliveira)