Two tourists spent the night on the pebble of Ponta do Pargo, next to Fajã das Palhas, after being unable to leave the place due to rising tides, and were only rescued this morning (040125) by the Portuguese Air Force.
The mission was coordinated by the Maritime Authority, which confirms that the initial request for help was logged at 17:40 yesterday at the SRPC IP-RAM. They were informed that a couple were isolated in the Fajã das Palhas area due to the rising tide. A SANAS Madeira vessel was immediately dispatched to the area. However, due to strong sea agitation, they were unable to rescue the couple.
The couple took refuge overnight in an existing cave on site, and the MRSC Funchal maintained continuous monitoring using Apple’s Emergency Relay Centre, due to the lack of network availability on site.
The Portuguese Air Force were called in this morning to rescue the couple.
The Polish citizens were taken to hospital and are said to be in a stable condition.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
