Évora, Portugal, Nov. 25, 2025 (Lusa) - The Évora Court of Appeal has ordered a retrial of the six defendants acquitted in the case of the collapse of Municipal Road 255 (EM255) between Borba and Vila Viçosa, which caused five deaths in 2018.

In a statement sent to the Lusa news agency, the Évora Court of Appeal explained that the ruling by the three judges is based on two points: an irreconcilable contradiction in the reasoning behind the decision and a clear error in the assessment of the evidence.

Appellate judges Maria Clara Figueiredo, Carla Francisco and Mafalda Sequinho unanimously decided to refer the case back to the Évora Court, which had handed down the first-instance decision, for retrial, he said.

According to the TRE, the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) invoked, in its appeal, three nullities in the first instance ruling, which the Court of Appeal found unfounded, and two structural flaws, which the judges concluded existed.

SM/ADB // ADB.

Lusa