A Saturday afternoon swim race along the coast took a heartbreaking turn. A 53-year-old Spanish man suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while competing in open waters. The tragic incident happened during a 10-kilometer event stretching between Oeiras and Cascais.
The alert came in just before 1 PM. Race organizers quickly called for help for a swimmer in distress. Emergency teams sprang into action immediately. This included the Maritime Police of Cascais and crews from the Cascais Lifesaving Station. The race’s own medical staff also joined the effort.
When help arrived, the medical team had already pulled the swimmer from the ocean. They brought him to São Pedro do Estoril beach. Lifeguards on duty were already performing CPR, trying desperately to revive him. Lifesaving crews, firefighters from Estoril, and advanced medical personnel from INEM then took over. They continued the critical resuscitation attempts on the sand.
Despite all these urgent efforts, the man was taken to a hospital. Sadly, he was later pronounced dead. The local Maritime Police of Cascais is now investigating the full circumstances of this deeply unfortunate event.