Two yellow locomotives and double stack freight train passing through town. (gk-6mt / Getty Images)
By Ole Braatelien September 20, 2025 at 4:00am
Two deaf Canadian women died after a train struck them near Mesão Frio, Portugal.
The women, 62-year-old Guylaine Boulanger and 66-year-old Elise Bénard, were vacationing from Montreal when the Sept. 13 tragedy occurred, according to CTV News in Canada.
Boulanger and Bénard were on some railroad tracks taking pictures and didn’t hear the train’s repeated horns.
Despite the engineer’s efforts to brake the train, both women died.
Confused train passengers didn’t know why the engineer was sounding the horn as repetitiously as he was, according to the Portugal Resident.
It was only after that they learned the reason why.
“The scene was terrible, indescribable, a tragedy,” one passenger said.
Boulanger and Bénard were reportedly taking photos and selfies near the Douro River.
They were with two others who weren’t injured.
In a tragic accident, two deaf Canadian women, Guylaine Boulanger, 62, and Elise Bénard, 66, lost their lives when a train struck them while they were taking photos near the Douro River in Portugal, shocking their community and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/4i2UkSO9ao
— unumihai Media (@unumihaimedia) September 15, 2025
Montreal resident Tobi-Lynne Payne was friends with Bénard, who was reportedly known throughout the deaf community, according to CTV News.
“I was crying yesterday,” Payne said. “My friends texted me like all day. I was crying so hard because they’re good friends of mine. It’s like a freak accident. I couldn’t believe it.”
Global Affairs Canada issued a statement about the incident, according to the Montreal Gazette.
Two women from Montreal, who are well known in its deaf community, were struck and killed by a train in Portugal on Saturday, family members confirmed.https://t.co/TBtwB9EHOG
— Globalnews.ca (@globalnews) September 15, 2025
“Consular officials are in contact with local authorities and are in contact with the families involved to provide consular assistance,” said Thida Ith, a spokeswoman for Global Affairs Canada. “We extend our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones as well as to all of those affected.”
Selfie deaths are a worldwide issue, according to a 2018 NIH study.
From October 2011 to November 2017, there were 137 such selfie incidents reported worldwide, according to the study. The incidents resulted in 259 deaths.
The highest casualties were reported in India, followed by Russia, the U.S., then Pakistan.
Ole Braatelien, a writer for The Western Journal since 2022, earned his bachelor’s from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
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