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Updated 04 Aug, 2023 03:19pm

Portuguese tourist killed in road accident in Balochistan

A Portuguese tourist, who was biking to travel 50 countries, was killed after being hit by a pickup truck in Dalbandin town of Chagai district in Balochistan on Thursday.

The victim was identified as Nuno Miguel Vilao Castanheria, 28, who crossed into Pakistan from Iran on Wednesday evening on his motorbike, officials said. The accident occurred on the RCD highway.

Miguel was granted a single-entry tourist visa on July 24 which was valid for 60 days, according to his travel documents.

Two German tourists with the Portuguese tourist also entered Pakistan, the provincial administration said. All three of them were on heavy bikes and going to Balochistan’s capital Quetta.

Levies personnel were also posted with the tourists for their security, Chagai Deputy Commissioner Hussain Jan Baloch told Urdu News. They were going along with them in a vehicle.

On the way from Chagai to Quetta, the news outlet reported that Miguel’s motorcycle collided with an “Iranian-made Zimbad” vehicle at Yakmach Talo.

Baloch added that the Portuguese tourist was rushed to the Prince Fahad Hospital in Dalbandin, which is also the district headquarters hospital of the Chagai district, after getting injured in the accident. But he succumbed to his wounds.

The body was shifted to the provincial capital in the government ambulance, according to the deputy commissioner, where a post-mortem examination would be conducted on the body at the Civil Hospital.

Moreover, the government was planning to write a letter to the Portuguese embassy.

A Levies man, on the condition of anonymity, told the news outlet that fertilizer was being smuggled to Afghanistan through the vehicle that hit the tourist.

The blue colour vehicle pickup trucks are usually used for transporting and smuggling smuggled goods, including Iranian oil, fertilizer and other items.

He added that Levies officials were deployed along with the tourists due to security concerns in the area. The tourists travelling on motorcycles have to ride behind the Levies vehicle, he said but the tourist was riding the motorbike in the wrong line on the one-way road connecting Quetta with Taftan and Iran where it was hit was hit by a vehicle coming from the wrong direction.

The district deputy commissioner has claimed that the driver of the vehicle has been arrested. In the initial investigation, the fault of the tourist has been found. But further investigation of the accident was being conducted.

The body was kept in the morgue of Civil Hospital. The Home Department has written a letter to the interior ministry for contacting the Portuguese embassy and shifting the body.

The provincial department urged the ministry to take necessary steps to protect the body from deterioration untill handover to the family of the victim.

The 28-year-old tourist used to write about his journey on Instagram. His last social media post was a picture taken against the backdrop of a desert in Iran.

His March 28 post says that he would take 85,000km of the journey in the next two years and travel around 50 countries.

He started the first leg of his journey from Portugal on May 21. He arrived in Pakistan via Turkey and Iran via various European countries. His next destination was India, but his journey in Balochistan turned out to be the last journey of his life.

“I’ve been a passionate traveller for some time now. More recently, I discovered a passion for motorcycles and adventure riding. One thing led to another and I am now embarking on the biggest adventure of my life – a solo motorcycle trip around the world for +2 years,” says his website titled Mission Plug.

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