During the five months that are officially identified as the bathing season, Portugal’s National Maritime Authority (AMN) reported that between 1 May and 30 September, there were 1,120 rescues, 3,787 first-aid interventions, and 18 fatalities on Portuguese beaches, four of which occurred in the Algarve.
According to the AMN, seven fatal accidents took place on supervised maritime beaches, three of them in the Algarve — at Cabanas de Tavira Beach, Monte Gordo Beach (Vila Real de Santo António), and Porto de Mós Beach (Lagos). In all three cases, the probable cause was “sudden illness.”
The authority also recorded eight fatal accidents in unsupervised maritime zones, including one at Armação de Pêra Beach, attributed to drowning.
Nationwide, across both supervised and unsupervised maritime beaches during the bathing season, the AMN registered a total of 16 deaths: 10 drownings, five due to sudden illness, and one case of unknown cause.
Additionally, two drownings were recorded outside the bathing season, both on unsupervised beaches.
