The foreign national who vanished off the coast of Arrifana beach, in the Algarve, on Monday, 27 July, has been named as British surfer Arran Strong, 27. The man disappeared off the coast of Aljezur while undertaking a stand-up paddle crossing. Authorities revealed that today’s search efforts had been severely hampered by dense fog..
Strong, who has been missing since Monday, 27 July, was identified today by José Maria Pyrrait, the fellow paddler who was accompanying him at the time of his disappearance.
Pyrrait is currently attempting to complete a stand-up paddle journey along the Portuguese coastline and was joined by Strong, who had been living in Portugal for several years, for the leg between Zambujeira do Mar and Monte Clérigo Beach, in Aljezur.
In a statement shared on social media, Pyrrait wrote: “Today has been a day of irreparable loss and profound sadness. Arran Strong, who accompanied me on the stage between Zambujeira and Monte Clérigo, is no longer with us. Yesterday [Monday], during the leg from Monte Clérigo to Carrapateira, he disappeared from his board while we were around a mile offshore from Arrifana.”
The experienced surfer, who is approaching his 61st birthday, explained that the pair had stopped offshore from Arrifana “to drink some water and take a few photos”. After resuming their journey, he noticed Strong’s board “drifting around 100 metres away”.
“I paddled over as fast as I could, diving again and again in search of him, but we were in very deep water and visibility was extremely poor. I called my support partner on land, who immediately alerted the emergency services. A local fisherman picked me up, along with both boards, and we spent nearly two and a half hours searching the surrounding area using the boat’s sonar,” he said, adding that he believed “the chances of him still being alive are virtually non-existent”.
Strong was ranked sixth in Portugal’s national surfing league and 46th in the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series standings.
Search and rescue teams have been looking for the missing surfer since Monday after an alert was raised at 11:33am by the friend accompanying him. According to Portugal’s National Maritime Authority (AMN), search operations began immediately under the coordination of the Captain of the Port of Lagos and the local commander of the Maritime Police.
The search resumed on Tuesday morning, but operations at sea have been significantly hindered by thick fog.
Speaking to Portuguese news agency Lusa, Lagos Harbour Master Hugo da Guia said the search operation includes a Portuguese Air Force helicopter and a lifeboat. However, at 9:30am this morning visibility remained too poor for either asset to be deployed, with crews awaiting an improvement in weather conditions before expanding the operation.
Source: LUSA
Photo credit: Surfline
