The parents of Portuguese Army lance corporal Ismael Lamela will receive a special compensation payment of 230,000 euros following his death in a parachuting accident in Tancos, according to an official order published on Wednesday in the Diário da República.
The 23-year-old soldier died on May 5 during the final jump of his Army parachuting course, a qualification he had made his personal life goal to achieve. The decision on the payout was reached with notable speed by military and government authorities.
An official Army investigation concluded that Lamela died in the line of duty and as a direct result of his military service. Because the soldier had not designated a beneficiary prior to his death, the compensation will be paid directly to his parents.
The final report of the investigation was approved by the Army Chief of Staff, General Eduardo Mendes Ferrão, on July 6. Nuno Pinheiro Torres, the Deputy Secretary of State and National Defence Policy, issued the final government authorization on August 7.
Second payout for recruit death
In a separate dispatch also published in the government gazette, Portuguese authorities approved a compensation payment of 205,000 euros for the mother of recruit soldier Henrique Carreiro.
Carreiro died at the age of 22 on October 23, 2024, after collapsing during a Cooper physical fitness test at the São Gonçalo Military Camp in Ponta Delgada, located in the Azores archipelago.
General Mendes Ferrão signed the Army approval for Carreiro's case on July 31, 2025. The Portuguese government issued its final clearance on August 17 of this year.
Calculation based on minimum wage
The financial difference between the two compensation payouts stems from calculations based on Portugal's national minimum wage at the time of each death. The national minimum wage was 820 euros per month in 2024 when Carreiro died, but rose to 920 euros per month in 2026.
Under Portuguese military regulations, special financial compensation is awarded to the families of service personnel who lose their lives in performance of military duty or during official training exercises.
The Diário da República serves as the official gazette of the Portuguese Republic, where all formal executive orders, ministerial dispatches, and statutory decrees must be published to take legal effect.
The parachuting course in Tancos, located in central Portugal, is widely recognized as one of the most physically demanding elite qualification programs within the Portuguese Armed Forces.
