THREE British holidaymakers and a German drowned off the south west coast of the Algarve in Portugal yesterday during an attempt to rescue children who had got into difficulties.
Three more Britons, understood to include a boy aged nine and an 11-year-old girl, were being treated in hospital in Portimao last night.
It is understood the adults, all believed to be parents aged between 40 and 50, had been trying to save thre
e children after they got into difficulty while surfing off Praia de Tonel, near Sagres. The children all survived.
The stretch of water is known to be one of the best in the area for surfing, with large Atlantic breakers, but the surf is edged by a rugged, rocky shore.
The German and two British couples are understood to have dived into the water at around 6pm. The children were then washed ashore suffering only slight injuries.
It is thought the children who got into trouble were the daughter of the German national and the son, nine, and daughter, 11, of one of the British couples.
One of those who died in the coastal tragedy was picked up by a lifeboat as the other three were washed ashore by the tide. Local emergency services were unable to revive the four adults.
Last night, the emergency services in Portugal confirmed a number of families had been at the beach, which is patrolled by lifeguards only during peak season, when some of the children got into difficulties near a large rock in the bay.
Commander Pereira, of the Maritime Authority in the nearby town of Lagos, said: "The waters around the rock where they go to swim are relatively calm but they have very strong winds, very strong currents."
He said lifeboats, the fire service and a Merlin helicopter were called in as soon as the alarm was raised.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said that the British ambassador in Portugal has been in touch with the civil governor, and the British consul in Portimao is travelling to the area.
The spokeswoman added: "There has been an incident in the Algarve in which it appears a group of British nationals have got into trouble while swimming off the south west coast.
"Three British nationals have died and three are in hospital."
Next of kin are being informed.
The Blue Flag beach is normally manned by lifeguards but the holiday season ended on 30 September.
The Algarve is popular with British holidaymakers seeking autumn sun during the mid-term break.
The spot is close to the resort where missing Madeleine McCann was staying with her family.
GIRL, 7, CRITICAL AFTER BALCONY FALL
A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD British girl is in a critical condition after falling from a fifth-floor hotel balcony in Majorca.
Police were last night searching for the girl's mother, who went missing after the youngster was discovered on the roof of an office by hotel staff yesterday morning.
The injured girl was named locally as Jeana Cooper and her mother Sarah Cooper, 45.
The rest of the family were understood to be with the girl at the Son Dureta Hospital, in Palma. She is reported to have undergone a three-hour emergency operation. The family was staying at the three-star Samoa Hotel in Calas de Majorca.
The full article contains 563 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
