The authorities will suspend the search for the two people who went missing in the shipwreck of a boat near Tróia, Grândola (Setúbal), at 8:30 p.m. today and resume it on Thursday, with a new extension of the perimeter, the Maritime Police said.
“There were no new developments” in the operations carried out today, so the searches “will be suspended at night” from 8.30pm, the local commander of the Maritime Police and captain of the Port of Setúbal, Marco Serrano Augusto, told Lusa.
He said that the authorities would continue searching on Thursday, stressing that the operations were expected to include “a larger area, from the Setúbal bar to the Sines cape, including the Sado estuary”.
On Thursday, “we’re going to use a different device”, but one that is “suited to the area, which allows us to continue searching as effectively as possible for the two people who are still missing”, he said.
The search perimeter has been extended again, after having been extended to 12 miles to the south and west today.
Speaking to Lusa, the local commander of the Maritime Police and captain of the Port of Setúbal said that the system would include two means, a water-based one, which “could be a speedboat”, and land-based means.
According to the official, the operations planned for Thursday will no longer involve the Portuguese Navy or the use of drones.
In the case of drones, “only if there are specific needs”, he stressed.
The unit will include resources and elements from the National Maritime Authority, the Shipwreck Relief Institute (ISN) and the Maritime Police.
The shipwreck, in which four men and a boy were fishing for cuttlefish, happened at around 07:00 on Sunday, but the Maritime Police only received the alert at 10:05.
The helmsman and owner of the boat, a 62-year-old man, was rescued alive from the sea by another boat passing through the area.
Also on Sunday, the bodies of an 11-year-old boy, whose 45-year-old father is still missing, and a 23-year-old adult, whose 21-year-old brother is still missing, were pulled from the sea.
The Attorney General’s Office revealed to Lusa that a criminal investigation has been launched into the case, led by the Grândola Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The captain of the Port of Setúbal also said that he had ordered a maritime accident investigation, which is customary in cases of accidents involving boats, to investigate the causes of the accident, and may or may not conclude that there is an administrative offense, in this case against the owner and helmsman of the boat.
As the shipwreck claimed at least two lives, Serrano Augusto also reported the matter to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
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