A 47-year-old man died yesterday afternoon following a collision between jet-skis near the river beach of Bitetos (Castelo de Paiva municipality), close to Ilha do Castelo.
Reports suggest that the other victims of this accident (two 15-year-old girls) included the man’s daughter.
With very little explained about the collision/ the speed the jet-skis were travelling at, Diário de Notícias has said that all three victims were “pulled from the water by recreational boats to Bitetos river beach” where firefighters and INEM (emergency medical) staff immediately began CPR on the man, which was sadly “unable to reverse the situation”.
The injured 15-year-old was transported to Penafiel Hospital with “multiple injuries”, according to a statement by the national maritime authority, which adds that the Maritime Police’s psychology department was called to provide support to the victims’ families.
A number of comments under the national maritime authority’s statement, posted over social media, have drawn attention to the large numbers of jet-skis riding the Douro river in this particular area, and the inherent dangers that should imply greater restrictions. For a start, should 15-year-olds even be driving jet-skis, queries one commentator.
Source: AMN (national maritime authority)
