Firefighters traveled 12 km for 9 hours to rescue canyoners in Seixal

The Madeiran Volunteer Firefighters mountain rescue team managed to rescue the four canyoning practitioners who on Thursday night were trapped above the mega waterfall of Água do Vento, in Seixal. An operation that took about 9 hours, involving 16 members of this corporation and a canyoning guide who knew the place well.

As the DIÁRIO reported, the helicopter of the Regional Civil Protection Service was first engaged to reconnoitre the area. At around 9 pm the firefighters entered through Levada do Norte, Lombo Barbinhas, and traveled about 12 km for more than five hours until they reached the area where the Spanish tourists were, who had run out of ropes.

Initially there was information that five tourists were trapped, but one of them managed to get out of there by their own means.

The rest, three men and one woman, all in their 40s, were rescued at dawn, having left on the side of Chão da Ribeira. They had no injuries and did not need to receive hospital treatment.

As for the rescue team from the Madeiran Volunteer Firefighters, they returned to the barracks around 6 am.

From Diário Notícias