Between May and October, 18 people died on Portuguese beaches, marking an increase of 12 fatalities compared to the same period last year.
The National Maritime Authority (AMN) released the beach safety report for the period from May 1 to October 31, revealing that the majority of fatal incidents were drownings, accounting for 12 deaths. Seven occurred in unsupervised maritime zones, three on supervised maritime beaches, and two in unsupervised areas at the time of the incidents.
The second most common cause of death in beach areas this year was “sudden illness,” with the authority reporting five such cases (four on supervised beaches and one on an unsupervised beach).
There was also one death due to unknown causes in another unsupervised maritime area.
In total, the National Maritime Authority reported 1,162 rescues and 3,918 first aid actions over these five months, involving 353 members of the Maritime Police and 116 crew members from the Life-saving Stations.
In 2024, there were six fatalities during the same period
In 2024, during the equivalent period, the number of deaths recorded by the National Maritime Authority was six. This means there were 12 more fatalities in 2025.
Most of these deaths were due to sudden illnesses, with only one drowning and another with unknown causes.
Last year, the number of rescues carried out was similar, with 1,175 recorded, as were the number of first aid actions, totaling 3,664.
In the last report from the AMN at the beginning of September, covering the numbers from May 1 to August 31, 16 deaths were recorded.
The AMN data, disclosed this Tuesday, indicates that there were 10 fatal drownings during this year’s beach season: three on supervised maritime beaches, five in unsupervised areas, and two outside the supervision period.
