Zagreb, Aug 12 (IANS) One of four Portuguese nationals who went missing overnight off Croatia’s Adriatic coast was found alive in a cove on the island of Krk on Wednesday and has been handed over to emergency medical services, harbour master Nenad Bugarin told media, as the search continued for the remaining three.
The rescued woman told rescuers that another member of the group had been near her only about 20 minutes earlier, but that person has not yet been located, Bugarin said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Croatia’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Rijeka (MRCC Rijeka) launched a coordinated search and rescue operation for four young Portuguese nationals who went missing overnight in the Velebit Channel along the country’s Adriatic coast, the Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure said.
MRCC Rijeka said it received a report at 4:41 am local time (0241 GMT) from an acquaintance of the missing group, who said the four friends had set out to paddle a small inflatable boat, no more than 1.5 metres long, from a campsite north of the coastal town of Senj before contact was lost.
Sea conditions in the area have been severe since Tuesday, with strong wind gusts and waves reaching up to three meters in height, Xinhua news agency reported. Rescuers have located an abandoned floating object near the coast of the island of Krk that matches the description of the boat used by the missing group, according to the ministry. The search operation is ongoing.
In June, three people were killed and one remained missing after a catamaran and a sailboat collided off Croatia’s southern Adriatic coast, local police said.
The collision occurred in the Split maritime zone, specifically between the islands of Solta and Brac, on June 14.
According to the Split-Dalmatia County Police Administration, all the fatalities were passengers aboard the sailboat. Emergency medical teams treated four other individuals at the scene, none of whom required hospitalization.
Local media reported that the sailboat, which was carrying a total of eight people, sank immediately following the impact.
–IANS
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