The search for two people believed to have gone missing on Saturday at sea near the northern pier of Povoa de Varzim in the Porto area was suspended at 20:00 and will resume on Monday, a naval source told Lusa today.
According to a spokesman for the National Maritime Administration (ANM), the searches were interrupted at 20:00, “without finding” the two people.
The search operations involved a lifeboat from the Póvoa de Varzim life-saving station, as well as members of the Póvoa de Varzim and Vila do Conde local maritime police commands, fire patrols and PSP and GNR personnel.
A Portuguese Air Force helicopter was also involved in the search and resumed operations at 3:00 p.m. after stopping the mission at 10:15 a.m. due to weather conditions, namely fog.
The operation also involved fishermen’s associations from Povoa de Varzim and Vila do Conde, the lifeguard association “Os Golfinhos” and beach concessionaires.
In a statement released Saturday, the National Maritime Administration said the cause of the incident was unknown and the search was called off early in the night without the victims being found.
ANM added that the alarm was raised at 4:52 p.m. by a family member of the victims, and searches immediately began at the site with the support of an Air Force aircraft.