A 74-year-old fisherman died this afternoon when the fishing boat he was on, the “Princesa do Mira”, from Quarteira, ran into problems and sank, 2,5 miles south of the beach at Faro.
The second crew member of the vessel, a 55-year-old man, was taken in, still alive, by a French sailboat that was sailing in the area. The surviving fisherman showed signs of hypothermia and was taken to hospital.
According to the National Maritime Authority, the Captain of the Port of Faro today, at around 14 pm, he received an alert, through a telephone call made by a representative of the Association of Fishermen Shipowners of Quarteira Quarpesca, reporting that a vessel «would be in difficulties, as it was left without propulsion, with two crew on board» .
The Captain of the Port of Faro he immediately contacted the MRCC Lisboa (Lisbon Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center) and began the search, despite the fact that the exact location of the ship in difficulty was unknown.
The search included the participation of a navy boat, a vessel of the Maritime Police of Faro, a vessel from the Lifesaving Station of Olhão and a helicopter “EH-101 Merlin” of the Portuguese Air Force.
At 16:55 pm, with the help of a French sailboat, the Air Force helicopter “EH-101 Merlin” confirmed the position of the two victims, along with some traces belonging to the vessel, which were in the water, about 2,5 miles (approximately 4,5 miles) XNUMX kilometers south of the beach at Faro.
At the site, the crew of the French sailboat managed to collect one of the victims on board, having spotted the second victim in the water, but no longer alive.
The Captain of the Port of Faro is coordinating operations while investigating what happened to cause the fishing boat to sink.
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