The Cape Verdean Government has already awarded annual pensions to the heirs of six of the eight soldiers who died in April in a car accident on the way to fight a fire in Santiago, according to dispatches consulted today by media.
According to the documents, published in the Official Bulletin, the mother of a former sergeant from Tarrafal de Santiago will receive the highest value of the blood pension, 766.930 escudos (6955 euros) annually, corresponding to 63910 escudos per month (579 euros).
Next is the mother and guardian of the minor son of a former corporal, who was born in Santa Cruz, but lived in Praia, who will receive 383.040 escudos (3.473 euros) per year, equivalent to 31.920 escudos per month (289 euros).
The able heirs of a former corporal and three soldiers will receive an annual pension of 191,520 escudos (1,736 euros) each, which amounts to 15,960 escudos (144 euros) per month.
According to the Armed Forces, the processes of two former corporals are underway to clarify the skillful heirs who will receive the pension at blood price. On April 02, eight Cape Verdean soldiers died in a car accident when they were on their way to fight the fire that broke out in the Malagueta and Figueira das Naus mountains, about 50 kilometers north of the city of Praia.
The truck, which was carrying the second military contingent in support of fighting the fire, had left Praia in the morning with 31 soldiers, three in the cabin and 28 in the body, bound for Figueira das Naus to Ribeira da Prata.
The number of fatalities rose to nine, with the death of a technician from the Serra da Malagueta Natural Park.
At the time, the Prime Minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, guaranteed the allocation of pensions, as was done in the case of Monte Tchota, a military detachment in São Domingos, Santiago Island, when in 2016 a military man shot dead eight others, as well as three civilians. In May, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMFA), António Duarte Monteiro, admitted that the driver of the vehicle reportedly lost control of the truck and “panicked.”