Two found alive as search intensifies for missing Portuguese in Croatia

Arhive (Photo: Lučka kapetanija Split)

Two members of a four-person Portuguese crew have been rescued in the Velebit Channel after an intensive search and rescue operation began following reports that four people had been missing at sea.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Rijeka (MRCC Rijeka) was alerted at 4.41am on Wednesday after an acquaintance reported that four people had left a campsite north of Senj in a small recreational inflatable boat, around 1.5 metres long, intending to paddle towards Senj before losing contact.

A search was launched immediately with the Senj and Rijeka Port Authorities and the Novi Vinodolski branch office. The operation has been complicated by difficult weather conditions, with strong Bura winds producing waves of more than two metres and gusts reaching around 60 knots, or 111 km/h, in parts of the search area.

MRCC Rijeka said the first survivor, a woman, was located at around 11.44am on Wednesday, 12 August, approximately 0.4 nautical miles from Butinj Bay.

She was spotted following an aerial search by the Croatian Coast Guard and was pulled from the sea by a rescue boat. She was reportedly exhausted but had no injuries. She was taken ashore and given medical attention.

At 1.40pm, a second member of the crew was found on rocks between Ogrul Bay and Cape Glavina. He was also rescued and taken ashore for medical care due to exhaustion.

Both rescued people are members of the same Portuguese crew.

The coordinated search for the remaining two missing crew members is continuing across the Velebit Channel.

Rescue boats from the Senj and Rijeka harbour master’s offices, as well as the Novi Vinodolski branch of the harbour master’s office, are involved in the operation. Additional maritime units from the Rijeka Port Authority are also expected to join the search.

The aerial search is being supported by a Croatian Coast Guard Pilatus PC-9 aircraft and a helicopter operated by Croatia’s Ministry of the Interior. Members of the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service (HGSS) are searching the coastline within the designated search area, using a specialised drone.

Authorities are continuing the operation to locate the two remaining members of the Portuguese crew.