Two Brits drown off Portuguese beach as man, 34, attempted to save friend, 33, when she got into difficulty while swimming
A BRITISH man and woman in their thirties have drowned at a beach on Portugal’s South West coast.
Police said the man went to into the water to try and help his friend when she got into difficulty swimming.
Local surfers went to their aid after seeing they struggled to get back to the beach and tried to revive them on the sand.
The tragedy happened around 2.30pm local time today at a beach in Zambujeira do Mar in Portugal’s stunning Alentejo region.
Police confirmed the dead pair were a British man aged 34 and a British woman aged 33 who were on holiday with a group of friends.
Maritime Police chief Rui Pedro Silva Filipe said: “I can confirm they are both British citizens. The man was 34 and the woman was 33.
“I cannot confirm 100 per cent but I believe they were in Portugal on holiday with a group of friends.
“I don’t know at this stage if the friends were on the beach or not.
“It appears the man went to the woman’s aid when he saw she was in difficulties and was holding onto a rock.
“He reached her but it was when they were coming back to the beach that they started drowning, maybe because they were tired.
“The local surfers went to their aid and got them out of the water to a small area of sand near the main beach but by that time they had already gone into cardiac arrest.
“Medical responders had already reached the scene and made an unsuccessful attempt to revive them by practising CPR.
“They were taken to a local health centre where they were pronounced dead and their bodies have now been taken to Beja where autopsies will take place probably tomorrow.”
A Portuguese Air Force helicopter took their bodies to a hospital morgue in the nearby city of Beja.
Neither has yet been named.
The British pair have been described in Portuguese press reports as a couple but police sources said they thought they were just friends.
The beach where the tragedy occurred has no lifeguard service after September 15.
Mr Silva Filipe described the sea at the time of the drama as “a little bit rough.”
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Local media published footage of the Portuguese Air Force helicopter airlifting the bodies from the beach as other sunbathers looked on.
Zambujeira do Mar hosts an annual five-day music festival called the MEO Sudoeste.
The likes of Madness have played at the festival, which takes place in August.
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