NEED TO KNOW
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Aziz Benharref of Ottawa, Canada, was among the 16 killed in the Sept. 3 funicular crash in Lisbon, Portugal
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His wife, who survived, said that they swapped sweats as they got on board
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“I kept asking and for like two nights nobody knows or at least he didn’t told me what happened to him,” she said in an interview from her hospital bed
A wife is remembering her husband, one of the 16 victims killed when a funicular crashed in Portugal earlier this month, and reflecting on their final moments together.
“We sat next to each other,” Hind Iguernane told CTV News from her hospital bed about her late spouse Aziz Benharref. “I was supposed to sit in his place, and he said, ‘No, just move a bit and I will be there,’ because it was more comfortable for me.”
On Wednesday, Sept. 3, the popular Elevador da Glória funicular, a historic system of railway trams, saw one of its streetcars derail and smash into a building. In addition to the 16 killed, at least 20 people, including Iguernane, were injured.
“It was very scary,” Iguernane told CTV News. ”It crashed. I didn’t see him. I called him; I was calling Aziz and he didn’t answer.”
Iguernane, whose injuries included a fractured hip and shoulder, was in and out of consciousness and says it took days before she learned that her husband had died.
“I kept asking and for like two nights nobody knows or at least he didn’t told me what happened to him,” she said. “They were just telling me, ‘We’re all looking for him, we keep looking for him.’ “
According to CTV News, Benharref, 42, was a Canadian citizen from Morocco, while Iguernane, who also hails from Morocco, is a permanent resident of Canada.
A GoFundMe established for Iguernane stated that Benharref died from traumatic injuries.
In an update shared on Wednesday, Sept. 10, loved ones said that Iguernane’s condition is steadily recovering and she will be transferred to a hospital in Morocco as part of her recovery. Her husband will be buried in the country.
“He’s one of the sweetest human beings ever,” Iguernane told CTV News. “He was kind to everyone. He was generous, hardworking, respectful. He was a great husband. He loved Canada.”
Other victims from the crash included André Bergeron, of Quebec, and his wife Blandine Daux, a permanent resident of Canada and a French citizen, according to CBC News. Eric Bergeron, André’s brother, told CBC that the two were on the last day of their vacation in Portugal when the crash happened.
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Officials attributed the incident to a failed cable, according to a report from the Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Accidents in Civil Aviation and Rail (GPIAAF) shared on Saturday, Sept. 6
“From the on-site study of the wreckage, it was immediately clear that the cable connecting the two cabins had given way at its attachment point inside the upper trambolho of cabin #1,” the agency said.
When reached for comment by PEOPLE, a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada said that they were “aware of the death of two Canadian citizens in the Lisbon streetcar crash,” although they did not confirm the identities of those individuals, saying no further information can be disclosed due to privacy considerations.
“We extend our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones as well as to all of those affected” the spokesperson added. “Consular officials are providing consular assistance to the families and are in contact with local authorities.”
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