Overview

• The 11-meter yacht Ti`fare sank about 45 nautical miles off Peniche after orcas reportedly caused a hull leak.
• A French-Portuguese couple and their three daughters were rescued uninjured after sending a distress call and boarding a liferaft.
• A fishing boat retrieved the family before an air force helicopter flew them to the Montijo base for hospital transfer.
• Portugal’s maritime authority has logged 61 orca encounters this year, and another sailing yacht sank near Caparica on September 13.
• Researchers note the pattern has been observed since 2020 and reject the term attacks, calling these events interactions with causes still under investigation.