Five-year-old girl and grandfather die in freak drowning accident in Portugal
A five-year-old girl and her grandfather have drowned on holiday in Portugal, after Lara Lewis and her grandparents, Jill and Bryan O’Dwyer, were swept out to sea at the popular holiday resort of Nazare.
It is thought a freak wave between six and 10 feet high caught the couple and their granddaughter as they were walking along Salgado beach. Lara’s three-year-old sibling was with them but unhurt and raised the alarm.
The body of Brian O’Dwyer, 66, was recovered from the sea – and paramedics battled for an hour to revive five-year-old Lara Lewis.
The child’s grandmother Jill O’Dwyer was saved by local fishermen and is recovering in hospital.
The girl’s parents, Professor Philip Lewis, aged 46, and his wife Sian, 36, live in Hackney, northeast London.
They were sunbathing nearby when the tragedy happened on Monday (20/08/12) afternoon, but were unable to help their relatives as they were swept out to sea.
The couple are said to be deeply shocked by the drowning accident and the loss of their daughter, who was due to start school in September.
Whilst this is a freak accident it goes to show you need to be on your guard when holidaying abroad in order to prevent accidents happening. Obviously some holiday accidents are unavoidable and in this particular case it ended up having tragic consequences.