The causes of the boating accident on Sunday at one of the sea defences protecting the entrance to the port in Tavira in which a man died and another was treated for hypothermia, are as yet unconfirmed.
The accident took place at around 13.00 when the recreational fishing boat flipped over and ended up on the rocks of the sea defence.
The alert was received at the Coordinating Center for Maritime Search and Rescue in Lisbon at about 13.15. INEM staff helped the Captain of the Port of Tavira coordinate a rescue with the Maritime Police.
The rescue of the two Portuguese crew members was over by 13.20 but Manuel Guerreiro had suffered a heart attack and could not be saved. His friend Délio Cavaco survived.
Both men were assisted by INEM medics and then transported to the Faro hospital, the older of the two fishermen died en route.
According to officials “at the time of the accident the two recreational fishermen were not wearing lifejackets.”
The boat was being used by the men for sport fishing and may have hit a build up of sand near the port entrance.
Ports authority Captain Ventura Borges commented that the entrance channel has silted up and needs sorting out. Fishermen commented that at low tide the entrance now is almost impassable.
