Marinha Grande, Portugal, July 31, 2024 (Lusa) - The fishing boat that sank off Marinha Grande at the beginning of the month was refloated on Wednesday and will be towed to the port of Aveiro, the Captaincy of the Porto of Nazaré said.

"The refloating work made it possible to put the vessel back on the surface at around 5.45 p.m. today," João Lourenço, the captain of the Porto of Nazaré, told Lusa.

The fishing boat was off Samouco Beach, in the municipality of Marinha Grande, in the district of Leiria, after sinking on 3 July with 17 crew members on board.

The boat's refloating, carried out by a company hired by the shipowner, had been going on for around three weeks, as "initially it was necessary to remove the excess cargo and then proceed to fill balloons to float the boat", explained João Lourenço.

At the end of today, the vessel was finally floated and "will be towed to the Porto of Aveiro, where an assessment of its condition will be made", added the commander of the Nazaré Captaincy.

The alert for the shipwreck was given to the local command of the Nazaré Maritime Police at 04:33 on 3 July.

Of the 17 crew members, 11 were rescued after the shipwreck and three others were declared dead later that day. Another three crew members, from Leirosa, in Figueira da Foz, were reported missing.

On 10 July, following the work of the divers involved in the refloating operation, accompanied by the Maritime Police, the bodies of the three missing fishermen were found.

DA/ADB // ADB.

Lusa