A shellfisherman wimbling around in the sea off Aljezur collecting goose barnacles ended up in a Lisbon hospital after injuring himself on rocks 1.5 kilometres from the shore.
A salvage operation was mounted on Sunday to rescue the 42-year-old from Pedra da Galé, a small outcrop in the sea off Aljezur.
The captain of the Port of Lagos, in coordination with the Centre for Coordination of Maritime Search and Rescue, ensured the man was airlifted to Hospital de Santa Maria in Lisbon as he had back injuries and could not move.
"The alert was received by the Maritime Police at 11.05am reporting the need for assistance and rescue of an individual of Portuguese nationality, who had been injured and was on Pedra da Galé, unable to move due to spinal injuries,” according to the National Maritime Authority’s website.
Due to the type of injury and the location being on a rock about a kilometer and a half out to sea, two Maritime Policemen coordinated the rescue from the clifftop with a Portuguese Air Force helicopter which had been scrambled.
The air force crew air-lifted the injured man at around 1pm and, after a medical evaluation, it was decided to take him to the Hospital de Santa Maria in Lisbon.
