According to a source from the Maritime Authority (AMN), the search operations at the location halted at 9:00 PM, with only the Portuguese Navy’s ocean patrol vessel remaining after sunset.
The resources will be reinforced at the first light on Tuesday with an aerial unit from the Portuguese Air Force, lifeguard station crew, and a drone, the source added.
The search operations involved crew members from the Nazaré and Figueira da Foz lifeboat stations by sea, the Portuguese Navy vessel NRP Viana do Castelo, and on land, members of the Nazaré Maritime Police Command, supported by a drone, according to an AMN statement.
Two minors went missing on Sunday afternoon in the sea while swimming at Pedrógão beach, in the municipality and district of Leiria, the National Maritime Authority reported.
The alert for the children’s disappearance was raised at 5:25 PM through the Lisbon Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC Lisbon). The lifeboat station crew from Nazaré and Figueira da Foz, along with the Portuguese Navy vessel NRP Viana do Castelo, began the search at sea, while firefighters from Leiria and Vieira de Leiria searched on land.
A Portuguese Air Force aircraft was also dispatched to the location.
The search is being coordinated by the Captain of the Port and Local Maritime Police Commander of Nazaré.
The Maritime Police’s Psychological Support Office has been activated to assist the family of the two children, who hold Angolan nationality.
Nazaré’s Port Captain and rescue operations commander, João Lourenço, informed the media that a current drift provided by Naval Command suggests “the victims are likely heading south, so the search areas have been extended in that direction.”
“Currently, sea conditions are relatively worse than on [Sunday],” Lourenço said, maintaining that the possibility of finding a victim remains and noting that “as time progresses, the search perimeter is expanded.”
João Lourenço informed the Lusa news agency that the children, who were with their family, “went into the water and were swept away by a wave.”
According to Céline Gaspar, president of the Union of Parishes of Monte Redondo and Carreira, three of the children attend Colégio Dr. Luís Pereira da Costa, while another attends the Centro Escolar de Monte Redondo. She added that, to her knowledge, the parents are emigrants in Canada.
In a statement, the Municipality of Leiria expressed “concern and dismay” over the disappearance of the minors, participating in the search operations through the Leiria Fire Department and Leiria Volunteer Firefighters, employing a lifeboat rescue unit, a jet ski, and a drone team.
“In this moment of anguish, we express our total solidarity with the family and friends of the children, as well as with the educational community of Monte Redondo, where the minors had been studying and residing since January,” stated the press release.
The municipality reiterated the call to the population to adopt preventative measures, especially in unmonitored areas.
