The alarm was raised by a member of the public reporting that “there were two people in difficulty in the water”
A Facebook picture posted by Portugal News
A 19-year-old Irish girl has been rescued from the sea off the coast of central Portugal after she got caught in a rip current.
The teen was pulled from the water on Monday afternoon, after being dragged by a rip current on Costa Nova Beach, in the municipality of Ílhavo.
According to the National Maritime Authority, the alarm was raised at 5.39pm by a member of the public who was at the location, reporting that “there were two people in difficulty in the water”.
Members of the Aveiro Maritime Police Local Command and crew from the Aveiro Lifeguard Station rushed to the scene, as well as members of the Ílhavo Volunteer Firefighters.
On arrival they found that “one of the young people managed to get out of the water by his own means”.
However, the girl was “in difficulty in the water” and she was rescued by members of the Maritime Police and taken to the pier of the Port Authority of Aveiro.
The victim showed signs of exhaustion and hypothermia, Portugal News reports, having been assisted by members of the Ílhavo Volunteer Fire Department before being transported to a hospital unit.
Last month an Irish man died while swimming in Portugal.
The man got into difficulties while in the sea at Inatel beach, Albufeira.
Officials said the alarm was raised on the afternoon of Saturday, April, 20, after three people got into difficulty swimming in the sea
The Irish Times reported that two Portuguese men went into the sea in an attempt to rescue the man after his partner raised the alarm.
The three men were rescued by lifeguards, but the 52-year-old Irish man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Portugal’s Maritime Authority confirmed that the two rescued men had attempted to come to the aid of the deceased man.
In a statement the Department of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the case.
