A body believed to be that of a 23-year-old British man who went missing while swimming off a popular Portuguese holiday resort has been recovered, local authorities have confirmed.
The young man disappeared on Thursday while swimming at Peneco Beach in Albufeira, on Portugal’s southern Algarve coast, alongside a 19-year-old companion, also from the UK. According to Portugal’s National Maritime Authority, the 19-year-old managed to get out of the water by himself and went to seek help, at which point the 23-year-old disappeared.
A body was recovered on Tuesday afternoon off the Albufeira coastline following an alert made at 6.37pm by a nearby fisherman. Portuguese police confirmed that officers from the Portimão Local Maritime Police Command, the Albufeira Volunteer Firefighters’ Humanitarian Association and the Albufeira Municipal Civil Protection Service were all mobilised to the scene.
In a statement, Portuguese police said: “On arrival at the scene, members of the Maritime Police, in collaboration with the Fire Brigade, transported the victim to Albufeira Marina.” A local Maritime Police official confirmed that death was pronounced at the scene, adding: “Following contact with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the body was transported by the Fire Brigade to the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of the Western Algarve.”
The British Consulate in Portimão was contacted and informed of the incident. The Maritime Police’s Portimão Local Command is overseeing the case. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been contacted for comment.
