Croatian rescuers said they had found two of the four Portuguese tourists who went missing in an inflatable boat during a storm on Wednesday as the search for the remaining two continues.
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The tourists disappeared in the early hours in the Velebit Channel, a stretch of the Adriatic Sea between Croatia’s Velebit mountain range and the popular islands of Krk, Rab and Pag.
The area is known for powerful and dangerous winds that frequently disrupt maritime traffic.
A woman was found near the island of Krk after almost eight hours in the sea, rescuers said, adding that a man was found soon afterwards nearby.
“The woman was found in the sea in Butinj Cove. She was handed over to emergency medical personnel,” Nenad Bugarin, captain of Senj Harbour, told local media.
The man managed to get out of the sea on his own and climb onto rocks, Bugarin added.
“He was transported to shore, where he was handed over to emergency medical personnel,” he said.
The discovery of an abandoned object matching the description of the group’s boat led rescuers to the area near Krk.
The search continues for two men, with two military aircraft involved in the operation.
The four had set off from a local campsite in a small 1.5-metre inflatable boat, intending to paddle along the coast, but contact was later lost, rescuers said.
A report from an acquaintance was received at 4:41 am, prompting an immediate search and rescue operation amid strong winds and waves of up to three metres, the statement said.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel wrote on X that the government was following the situation “with great concern and in close coordination with the Croatian authorities.”
In late July, an Austrian skipper also went missing after falling into the sea while sailing in the Adriatic during rough weather near the island of Solta.
The search was called off after four days despite an intensive operation involving a military aircraft.
Croatia is a popular tourist destination, and last year the Balkan country of 3.8 million people welcomed nearly 22 million visitors.
Most flock to Croatia’s Adriatic coast, dotted with more than 1,000 islands and islets, where nautical tourism is increasingly popular.
Additional sources • AFP