The pleasure boat sank around 07h00 this Sunday, but the alarm was only raised at 10h00. One person was rescued.

One person was rescued, and four are missing after the vessel they were travelling in sank this Sunday in the Tróia area, in the municipality of Grândola (Setúbal), revealed the Maritime Police and Civil Protection.

Contacted by the Lusa news agency, a source from the Alentejo Litoral Sub-Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Command stated that the alert for the incident, coordinated by the Setúbal Maritime Police, was given to the firefighters at 10h50.

The captain of the Port of Setúbal and local commander of the Maritime Police, Serrano Augusto, explained to Lusa that “the pleasure craft sank at 07h00, about a mile and a half from Tróia”.

“But we only received the alert around 10h00”, added the head of the Maritime Police.

“There were five people on the vessel”, of which “one, the helmsman, has already been rescued alive”, but “four people are still missing, three adults and a child”.

At the location, a search and rescue operation for the missing persons is underway, with vessels and members of the Maritime Police and the Shipwrecked Relief Institute (ISN), he said.

“Another recreational vessel at the site also provided assistance, and I have already requested air support from the Portuguese Air Force,” said Serrano Augusto.

He added that the vessel capsized when it was struck by “a blow from the sea, which caused the passengers to be thrown into the water”.

According to the commander, firefighters and GNR resources were also mobilized for searches on land.

Lusa