Divers assess salvage conditions for sunken boat in San Pedro de Moel

The search for three missing people on a vessel that docked Wednesday at Marinha Grande was expanded this Friday and conditions for rescuing the boat are being assessed, the port captain of Nazaré said.

“The search was expanded to the sea and land, as no one was found inside the vessel, but there were still two places to explore,” Nazaré port captain João Severino Lourenço told Lusa.

Regarding the rescue of the ship, which was stranded off Praia do Samuco, in the municipality of Marinha Grande, Leiria district, a private company hired by the shipowner is “refloating the ship”, in an operation that, given that “there are still three fishermen missing, is accompanied by a member of the forensic diving team of the maritime police”, explained the port captain.

In a situation review late this morning, João Severino Lourenço also said that “the net is being removed” and that the rotation of the vessel and the refloating operation “will depend on the conditions” of the sea, so “since many things can happen today, as well as in a few days.”

The search operations, coordinated by the Port Master and the local commander of the Nazaré Marine Police, involved a Portuguese Navy ocean patrol vessel, two Amarok vehicles from the Seawatch project, an aerial surveillance team and a marine police picket this Friday.

The operations are also supported by the civil protection services of Marinha Grande and Nazaré, as well as the firefighters of the latter municipality, who are providing support to the divers.

According to the National Maritime Administration, the Marine Police Psychological Unit continues to provide support to the victims’ families.

The warning to list the fishing vessel Virgem Dolorosa was transmitted to the local command of the Nazaré Marine Police at 4:33 a.m. on Wednesday.

Three crew members died, 11 were rescued and three were missing in Praia da Leirosa, Figueira da Foz.