A heartbroken wife who watched her husband perish in the harrowing Lisbon tram disaster has detailed their final moments together.
Hind Iguernane and her husband, Aziz Benharref, from Ottawa, were riding on the ill-fated Gloria Funicular when the renowned attraction crashed into a building due to a cable break on September 3.
While Iguernane survived the horror crash that left 16 dead and 21 injured, her 42-year-old husband did not make it.
‘Very, very fast, like going on the highway and everyone was screaming,’ Iguernane shared with CTV from a hospital bed, suffering from a fractured hip and shoulder.
‘It was very scary. It crashed. I didn’t see him. I called him; I was calling Aziz and he didn’t answer.’
The Canadian pair, originally hailing from Morocco, were enjoying their vacation in Portugal when they decided to take a ride on the 140-year-old electric funicular.
The bright yellow tram travels along a steep hill connecting downtown Lisbon to the ancient Bairro Alto district.
Iguernane said that she and her husband had switched seats before the excursion began – possibly saving her life.
Hind Iguernane (left) and her husband, Aziz Benharref (right), of Ottawa, were both on board the doomed Gloria Funicular when the famous attraction crashed into a building.
While Iguernane survived the horror crash (pictured) that left 16 dead and 21 injured, her 42-year-old husband did not make it
Hind Iguernane (pictured) sustained injuries from the accident and is in the hospital
‘We sat next to each other. I was supposed to sit in his place, and he said, “No, just move a bit and I will be there,” because it was more comfortable for me,’ she recounted to CTV.
Following the devastating tram crash, Iguernane explained she was fading in and out of consciousness for several days, unaware of her husband’s whereabouts or if he had survived.
She said she spent days begging for updates from hospital staff about Benharref, but was left with questions unanswered.
‘They were just telling me, “We’re all looking for him, we keep looking for him,”‘ the grieving widow recalled.
In the meantime, Iguernane’s brother Youness, who lived with the couple in Ottawa, took to Facebook to ask if anyone knew where Benharref was.
Through social media, Youness said he found two men from Algeria and a woman from Morocco who lived in Portugal and were able to help scour hospitals for Benharref.
Benharref’s (pictured) identity was confirmed days after Global Affairs Canada announced the deaths of two Canadians from Quebec City
After the catastrophic tram wreck, Iguernane said she was in and out of consciousness for multiple days, unaware of where her husband was or if he was alive (pictured: emergency responders at the scene)
Benharref’s identity was confirmed days after Global Affairs Canada announced the deaths of two Canadians from Quebec City, André Bergeron and his wife, Blandine Daux.
Benharref’s loved ones said they are disappointed in Canada’s lack of aid when it came to locating him.
‘They took the information that we had, and they tried to get information, but we did not get any help from them,’ Ayoub Sajjaa, who knew Benharref for more than 20 years and went to college with him, told CTV.
‘It was really frustrating because for the whole night we tried to find solutions from our own.
‘And we got help from people that we had never known before and it was really sad because we were saying that, “Oh Canada, can you know help us.”‘
Benharref, who worked as a customer service representative, according to his LinkedIn, will be buried in Morocco.
The bright yellow tram (pictured) travels along a steep hill connecting downtown Lisbon to the ancient Bairro Alto district
While Iguernane remains in the hospital, a GoFundMe has been created to support her recovery. So far, more than $8,400 has been raised.
‘He’s one of the sweetest human beings ever. He was kind to everyone. He was generous, hardworking, respectful. He was a great husband. He loved Canada,’ Iguernane told CTV.
‘Pray for him, for all the people and victims of the tragedy and pray for us to stay strong.’
