Crew member on the tug Walkirien (Denmark)
Birth place – Olhão
Birth date –
Death date – 09/02/1940
Father –
Mother –
News of the death of José Francisco
Reis published in the newspaper
Diário de Lisboa
José Francisco dos Reis died on February 9, 1940 when the tug Walkirien, where he worked, was towing the British freighter Oregon, with boiler problems while traveling in the OB79 convoy.
The Oregon stopped about 200 miles from Lisbon and the Walkirien, which sometimes anchored in the Tagus, was one of the tugs that went to its rescue. During the operation the steel cable that connected the two vessels broke, hitting José Francisco dos Reis and three other crew members.
Reis, as well as two others, were practically beheaded in the accident. The fourth crew member was seriously injured and was admitted into a Lisbon hospital when the Oregon, the tugs Walkieren and Geir, and two British destroyers who were escorting them, entered the Tagus on the 11 February.
The body of José Francisco dos Reis and the other deceased crew members were buried at sea.
Carlos Guerreiro
Sources
Diário de Lisboa §
