Man crushed to death by wife after she 'stumbled and fell on top of him'

A man in Portugalhas died after his partner lost her balance and fell on top of him.

The man, 59, was described locally as being slight in build and was reportedlysmothered to death by his common-law wife, who was a year older and weighed more than 100kg (15st). It is believed she stumbled as she got out of bed to go over to her partner, who was lying on the floor next to her.

The woman’s horrified screams alerted neighbours as she became trapped between the bed and the wall of the couple’s home. They went to her aid during the incident, which occurred in the early hours of yesterday morning. It comes after a mum was left 'traumatised' after a dog walker pushes her in canal as she cycles to work.

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They managed to lift her off him but he was already unconscious by the time firefighters and paramedics arrived and the efforts of medical responders to revive him after he went into cardiac arrest proved unsuccessful. The woman’s weight reportedly played a key factor in her inability to get up after she became trapped.

It is not clear how much she weighs but she has been described locally as “obese.” Portuguese daily Correio da Manha said five men had to lift her off her partner.

The freak tragedy happened in the residential district of Campanha on the outskirts of Porto. PSP police officers have investigated but have ruled out foul play and decided it was a freak accident.

One source close to the investigation said: “It’s been categorised as an accidental asphyxia. It’s obviously a very unusual death but there was no criminal intent.

“It was a stumble by the woman as she got out of bed and tried to move closer to her husband who was lying on the floor that led to what happened.”

The unnamed dead man’s partner is understood to have been offered grief counselling. The couple had lived together as man and wife, although they weren’t formally married, for several years according to reports in Portugal.

It comes after six people, including four members of a family with British passports died in a tragic car crash while on holiday in Portugal.

Twins aged 20, their father, 55, their 51-year-old mother, and one of the youngsters' girlfriends all died in the accident, which also claimed the life of a Portuguese man who was travelling alone in the second vehicle. The parents who were killed in a head-on crash in a Nissan Juke they had rented from Faro Airport have been identified as Maria Joao and Domingos Serrano. Their twin sons Domingos and Afonso also died.