British man found dead in sea off Algarve beach

A British man has been found dead at a beach in the Algarve area of Portugal.

The 58-year-old was pulled from the sea at a golden sand cove close to the popular holiday resort of Portimao by two lifeguards.

They started CPR on him before emergency medical responders arrived to take over.

There was nothing they could do to save him and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Trained psychologists have been mobilised to provide support to the victim’s family following the tragedy at Pintadinho beach, a tranquil blue flag beach nearest the fishing village of Ferragudo which is framed by clay-coloured cliffs.

It was not immediately clear on Sunday morning if the dead man was a holidaymaker or lived in the area or whether he was alone when he got into difficulties or was with family or friends.

The alarm was raised around 9.20am on Wednesday and although news of the incident started emerging on the day, police only confirmed his nationality in the last few hours.

A spokesman for Portugal’s National Maritime Authority said: “The body of a 58-year-old English national man has been found floating at Pintadinho beach, in the municipality of Lagoa, with the causes of the incident unknown.

“Following an alert received at 9:19am on Wednesday from a member of the public reporting a body floating in the water, personnel from the Local Maritime Police Command of Portimao were activated, along with teams from the INEM National Medical Emergency Institute, the Lagoa Volunteer Firefighters and the Judicial Police.

“Upon arrival at the scene, it was found that the victim, a 58-year-old English national man, had already been removed from the water by two lifeguards who began resuscitation efforts until the arrival of the emergency response teams.

“As it was not possible to reverse the situation, the man’s death was certified by the INEM doctor and his body was transported to the Barlavento Algarve Forensic Medicine Institute by the firefighters following work at the scene by police.

"The Maritime Police Psychology Office was activated and is providing support to the victim's family."

There is no suggestion at this stage the man’s death is being treated as a crime.

The autopsy will determine whether the unnamed Brit died of a simple drowning or suffered some other kind of contributory health problem.

Yesterday morning in a separate incident a 64-year-old Irish holidaymaker died after getting into difficulties in the sea at Prainha Beach in Alvor which is also close to Portimao. It is a just a 20-minute drive west of Pintadinho Beach heading towards Lagos.

The alarm was raised just after 10.30am on Saturday.