Co-workers saw a fisherman get his leg tangled in a gear cable which dragged him over the side of the boat and under the water.
The captain of the fishing boat alerted the authorities and ordered the winding gear to be put in reverse to rescue the man but to no avail, the chances now of finding him alive are zero.
The man was not wearing a life jacket but this may not have helped if he remained tangled up long enough to drown. He was pulled below the water by the weight of the nets and did not resurface.
The authorities immediately were alerted at 07.49 this morning and the Maritime Police were soon at the scene about five kilometres south of the Ancão beach, Loulé.
Rescue workers, a speedboat and a helicopter failed to find a body.
The man’s colleagues managed to reverse the gearing and hoisted the nets aboard in an attempt to recover the 55-year old fisherman but he was no longer tangled up and has not been seen since.
By the end of the morning two navy ships joined the search along with an Air Force and a Civil Protection helicopter.
