- Erica Vicente, 17, was found in the sea 30 miles off the coast of Portugal
- She was rescued by MSC Reef crew at around 5.30pm yesterday
Teenage girl rescued by container ship
Teenage girl rescued by container ship crew in the Atlantic 30 miles off Portugal, states an MSN news source.
A teenager has been rescued nearly 30 miles out to sea on a paddle board 21 hours after going missing from an Algarve beach.
Erica Vicente, 17, cheated death after being spotted by a container ship that was waiting for permission to enter the Moroccan port of Tangier.
A massive rescue operation was launched to find her after a gust of wind took her out to sea as she enjoyed the last day of her holiday on a beach in Monte Gordo near Portugal’s southern border with Spain.
She got into difficulties around 8pm on Saturday and was rescued, conscious but suffering from hypothermia, after being aided by MSC Reef around 5.30pm yesterday.
At the time she was 25 nautical miles out to sea – the equivalent of nearly 29 land miles.
The crew of the ship, which sails under the flag of Liberia, contacted Portuguese authorities with the good news she had been found safe and well.
Portugal’s National Maritime Authority confirms the rescue
Today Portugal’s National Maritime Authority confirmed the rescue as police chiefs revealed her dad had told them he felt like his daughter had been ‘born again’ and she could be discharged from hospital within 24 to 48 hours.
It said in a statement: ‘The 17-year-old girl who had been missing at sea since April 15 was found alive after having entered the water with a stand-up paddle board and being unable to paddle back to land at Coelho beach in the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António.
‘Following an alert received by a merchant ship, informing they had found the missing girl, 25 nautical miles south of Vila Real de Santo António, a vessel from the Local Command of the Maritime Police of Vila Real de Santo António and the Portuguese Navy ship NRP Orion were immediately sent to the scene.
‘The young woman had severe hypothermia and the support of the Portuguese Air Force aircraft was requested so she could be transported her to Faro airport where an ambulance was waiting.’
The Portuguese Air Force released footage showing Erica, who is better known by her nickname of Kika, being carried to a stretcher so she could be helped off MSC Reef.
A spokesman at the hospital she was taken to said she could be discharged within the next 24 hours.
Horacio Guerreiro said: ‘She’s endured a lot of time without food or water, exposed to the sun and in a situation of street, but she’s okay, she’s stable.
‘It takes a survival instinct to come through situations like this. She’s a heroine, without a doubt.’
She is a real fighter
Elsa Rocha, the doctor who led the medical team that has been assisting Erica, added: ‘She’s a real fighter. She arrived at hospital exhausted and a little confused but that’s normal after 20 hours at sea on a paddle board.
‘When she arrived at the hospital she was no longer either dehydrated or suffering from hypothermia.
‘This shows just how amazing human beings can be.’
The teenager at the centre of the amazing rescue comes from Azeitao near Setubal an hour’s drive south of Lisbon.
A local police chief said her dad had leapt into the water and tried to save his daughter after seeing she was drifting out to sea but wasn’t able to drag her back to shore.
Searches took place along the southern Spanish coastline as well as Portugal before the alert she had been found.
Afonso Martins, Maritime Police chief at Vila Real de Santo Antonio port, said: ‘The father’s reaction when he was told his daughter had been rescued was that of someone who has seen her born again.’
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Source: MSN
