In the second sea tragedy in a week six people drowned and one was injured off the Costa da Caparica, south west of Lisbon. The six victims were fishing in the Costa Mesa area.
The boat carried seven and sunk at 19.37 on Saturday. One survivor managed to raise the alarm. The accident happened about 500 meters from the beach. The boat was coming from Espichel and heading towards Lisbon.
Rapidly on site were firefighters, INEM and the Maritime Police. Search operations also involved a helicopter from the Portuguese Air Force.
The bodies of the six victims, not one of which was wearing a life jacket, were washed up on the beach and taken to the morgue of the Garcia da Horta Hospital, said an official source. The survivor is in the same hospital being treated for hypothermia. No reason has yet been given for the accident.
Meanwhile the body of a woman, believed to be one of those missing in the student drowning tragedy at Meco beach, has been recovered.
The information was confirmed by the Portuguese Navy. The body was discovered on Sunday at 10.55 and recovered by corvette in coordination with the Center for Maritime Search and Rescue from Lisbon.
The Captain of the Port of Setúbal, commander Lopes da Costa, said that the identification may still take a while and warned that just because this one body had been recovered, people should not assume the others will be nearby.
The search continued today to find the bodies of the remaining five students. Poor sea conditions last week had halted the search between the Praia do Meco and Cape Espichel.
TThe students from the Lusophone University had rented house in Alfarim in which to spend the weekend. They were swept away by a wave as they sat on Meco beach. One survived and raised the alarm.
