Girl Dies After Yacht Sinks: 30-Foot Waves In Atlantic Ocean To Blame


A girl died after a yacht sank off the coast of Portugal.

According to ABC News, the 6-year-old French girl was with her family when 30-foot waves overtook their yacht, causing it to sink. While the girl’s mother and her 9-year-old brother were able to take refuge in a lifeboat, the young girl and her father were stranded in the ocean for hours.

“A French sailboat carrying a French couple and their two children sank after midnight, Portuguese navy spokesman Paulo Vicente said. It was one of four yachts that, separately, ran into trouble during a fierce storm about 900 kilometers (560 miles) south of Portugal’s Azores Islands, the Portuguese navy said in a statement.”

The girl who died on the sinking yacht was able to tread water for a long time, but the water was too cold for her body to handle. The navy was able to locate the two after dawn, and threw them an inflatable lifeboat, but it was too late for the child. She died of hypothermia at a local hospital.

The Portuguese navy was extremely busy over a 24-hour time period as the weather in the area was “severe.” A total of 12 people were rescued over the course of that particular storm.

According to Sport Act, the rough seas required the navy to call in additional assistance. While everyone did their best to help these people in distress, one child lost her life.

“Aircraft from the Portuguese air force and the U.S. coast guard were diverted from a joint naval exercise after receiving distress calls from the yachts. Two passing merchant ships were also involved.”

In February, a girl died after falling off of a boat in Brazil. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the 6-year-old was eaten by piranhas. Although bad weather did not cause that terrible accident, a child still lost her life.

“The child was riding in a canoe with her grandmother and other children when the boat capsized. By the time the small girl was pulled from the water, the piranhas had eaten the flesh from her legs. The girl was pronounced dead and taken to the morgue of the Municipal Hospital of Monte Alegre.”

As far as the storm in the Atlantic ocean that caused the yacht to sink, it is unknown why so many people were out on the open seas if the weather conditions were so poor.

[Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images]

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