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Tourists die in rescue bid
23/10/2007 14:10 - (SA)
Lisbon - Four tourists - three Britons and a German - drowned in southern Portugal when they tried to rescue three children from the sea, officials and news reports said on Tuesday.
The children were in the surf on a beach near Sagres, about 200km south of Lisbon, when they were caught by a strong current on Monday, daily paper Diario de Noticias reported.
The tourists, all said to be aged between 40 and 50, went into the water and managed to push the children back to shore, the paper said.
However, the adults were then reportedly trapped by the current and strong waves.
One died in the sea and three others on the beach where emergency services attempted to resuscitate them, according to the paper.
The British embassy in Lisbon confirmed three British tourists had died and that three others required medical treatment but declined to provide further details.
Three other children witnessed the incident from the beach, and all six children were given counselling, Diario de Noticias said.
The relationship between the adults and the children was not clear. Neither local authorities nor embassy officials were immediately available for comment.
Recent hot weather has drawn many people to Portugal's beaches, but autumn tides are notoriously dangerous.
- AP
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