Four Portuguese missing off Croatian coast after storm sinks inflatable boat

Incident and search response

Four Portuguese citizens, described as a group of friends, went missing in Croatian waters after the inflatable boat they were traveling in was caught by a storm. According to RTP, the group had been missing since Tuesday, 11 August. They had been camping at a location north of the town of Senj, on Croatia's northern coast, and used a small inflatable boat to head toward the town. The boat was approximately 1.5 meters long, according to local press cited by SAPO and Observador. The alert was raised at 4:41 AM on Wednesday, 12 August, prompting a search operation in the Velebit Channel. The vessel was overwhelmed by the storm in the channel, a stretch of water along Croatia's northern coast where the four Portuguese citizens were last reported.

The Croatian Ministry of Defence announced on the social network X that the Coast Guard mobilized a Pilatus PC-9 aircraft to search the maritime area of the Velebit Channel. The search operation involved multiple resources, according to the ministry. Weather conditions were complicating the rescue effort, RTP reported, adding to the difficulty of locating the missing persons in the channel.

Rescue and recovery

According to the Croatian newspaper Novi List, cited by Observador, one Portuguese woman was rescued alive, while the search for the remaining three missing persons continued. Observador's headline reflected this updated count, referring to three missing rather than four. However, the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) later stated that the vessel had been located and that one fatality had been recovered, with the identity yet to be confirmed by competent authorities. The MNE told Renascença that it was accompanying the case with apprehension and in close articulation with Croatian authorities. The available reporting does not clarify whether the woman initially reported as rescued alive and the fatality mentioned by the MNE are the same or separate individuals.

The MNE posted on X:

“The MNE is following, with great apprehension and in close coordination with the Croatian authorities, four Portuguese citizens missing off the coast of Croatia, after the vessel they were traveling in was caught by a storm.”

The ministry added:

“The vessel has been located, and unfortunately a fatality has already been recovered, whose identity will be determined by the competent authorities.”

Ongoing search efforts

The group had been traveling in a small inflatable boat measuring approximately 1.5 meters in length, a vessel size mentioned in local press reporting of the incident. The storm struck during the early morning hours of Wednesday, catching the four friends as they navigated toward Senj from their camping site to the north. The Portuguese government stated it was monitoring the situation in close coordination with Croatian authorities. The Croatian Coast Guard continued to deploy the Pilatus PC-9 aircraft in the search area, with weather conditions remaining a factor in the operation. As of the latest reports on 12 August, the identity of the recovered fatality had not yet been confirmed, and search operations for the remaining missing persons were ongoing.