An alert of the tragic accident was given by a friend who was at Praia do Meco near Sesimbra with his friends and who witnessed them being swept away by a freak wave.
The accident occurred at around 01.00 on Sunday morning.
The body of one young man, Tiago Campos from Odivelas, was recovered from the water at 07.00 this morning by emergency services but five are still missing, according to the Maritime Police of Setúbal.
According to the same source, the authorities have been searching all day for the victims’ bodies whose ages range from between 20 and 24 years old.
The search operation is continuing overnight but only along the shoreline. On Monday morning the air and sea search will be resumed.
The victims had rented a house in Alfarim and were sitting on the beach near the breaking waves when they were overcome by a large wave which swept them out to sea.
The other missing students, all in their 20s had been on different courses at the Universidade Lusófona in Lisbon. They later were named as Catarina Soares from Barreiro, Pedro Negrão from Lisbon, Carina Sanchez from Fernão Ferro and Joana Barroso from Santiago de Cacém.
