A fisherman, believed to have been in his 60s, was “swallowed up” by a sudden swell in the ocean off Bordeira beach yesterday. Witnesses watched in horror, as there was absolutely nothing they could do. According to a report in Correio da Manhã, the sea “took the fisherman by surprise”.
He was fishing off a rocky outcrop at the southern end of the beach, when a swell drenched the 10-metre rock known as “Pias”, pulling the man into the water as it receded.
CM says the fisherman lived in Portimão and was out for the day with a friend.
The friend wasted no time in sounding the alert but the victim died almost immediately.
His body was brought to shore by lifeguards at 11.30am, only 20 minutes after he had disappeared into the waters.
The spot is known for its “deep waters that often show no signs of waves at all”, a local told CM. “It is only when people least expect it that a strong wave can come, large enough to climb the rock and take with it whoever is up there”.
A similar accident is understood to have claimed the life of a fisherman at the same spot in 2008, added the paper.
