British woman is stabbed in the arm while on a pilgrimage in Portugal: Robber flees empty-handed ‘after seeing how much blood victim was losing’
- The 27-year-old woman was knifed in the arm by a masked mugger in Vialonga
- She was taken to Vila France de Xira Hospital after the criminal fled the scene
- Firefighters said the woman was walking the popular Way of St James route
A British tourist was rushed to hospital in Portugal after being stabbed during a bungled street robbery while on a pilgrimage.
The 27-year-old woman was knifed in the arm by a masked mugger in Vialonga, north of Lisbon, on Wednesday evening.
Local reports said the criminal fled empty-handed after seeing the amount of blood she was losing.
Emergency workers said the woman was walking the popular Portuguese Way of St James, which passes through Lisbon, Coimbra and Porto on its way to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in north-west Spain.
A British tourist was rushed to hospital in Portugal after being stabbed during a bungled street robbery in Vialonga (file photo)
The victim was assisted at the scene before being taken to Vila Franca de Xira Hospital.
Mario Cardoso, one of the fire chiefs based at Vialonga Fire Station, said: ‘The mugger actually helped his victim when he saw he had cut her and she was bleeding and then fled while she went to seek assistance in a local office.
‘It appears his intention was not to actually hurt his victim but that is what ended up happening.
‘She was not badly injured but she was taken to hospital so she could receive medical attention.
‘I am not aware of any arrests but that is a matter for the police.’
The unnamed Brit, who was with a female friend at the time, is said to have been stabbed in the arm.
Although the pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela are generally regarded as safe, there have been some incidents of female walkers being targeted.
Two men were jailed in July last year in Portugal following a string of attacks on women including the attempted rape of a 71-year-old British pilgrim.
The Briton, who was walking the same route as the woman hurt on Wednesday, was targeted as she walked alone near a train station in Santarem around 35 miles north of Vialonga.
She was forced to perform a sex act on one of her two attackers after being sexually abused.
Another two women were targeted in the same week in attacks blamed on the pair, who had travelled from Entrocamento to carry out ‘premeditated’ attacks, a court found.
In April 2017, Miguel Angel Munoz was convicted of the murder of American pilgrim Denise Pikka Thiem by a court in the Spanish city of Leon.
She disappeared two years earlier as she walked alone to Santiago de Compostela after watching a Martin Sheen film about the pilgrimage.