Tavira fisherman dies as boat capsizes on sandbank

Tavira fisherman dies as boat capsizes on sandbank

Excess sand that has built up at the entrance to Tavira’s port this winter seems to have been the reason for last Sunday’s fishing boat tragedy where a 54-year-old occasional sailor died.
Manuel Guerreiro was pulled out of the water by rescue workers in a state of cardiac-arrest, and died on the way to hospital, reports Correio da Manhã newspaper.
The ‘weekend fisherman’ who put to sea with friend Délio Cavaco was not wearing a life-jacket when the boat he was in turned turtle at the entrance to the port.
Ports authority captain Ventura Borges said: “The channel has silted up and needs intervention.”
Fishermen have already alerted authorities to the dangers, writes Correio da Manhã. “At low-tide, a peninsula of sand is created that almost closes off the channel altogether”.
Last weekend’s tragedy, on Sunday afternoon, came just as a sudden wind picked up from the south. This would have helped precipitate the accident, fishermen told the newspaper.
Guerreiro’s fishing partner, also without the support of any life-jacket, was rescued suffering from hypothermia and is expected to make a full recovery.