Portugal Teen Found Alive After Missing 20-hours on Paddleboard

LISBON, Portugal - Erica Vicente, a 17-year-old from Azeitão, south of Lisbon, is lucky to be alive after spending nearly 20 hours stranded on a stand-up paddle board. Vicente was swept more than 40 kilometers off the Portuguese coast where she initially got on her SUP. Erica was paddle boarding on the Algarve coast Saturday afternoon when the wind and ocean currents picked up and pushed her out to sea. Her father called emergency services immediately upon realizing his daughter was in distress, and an all hands on deck search involving cars, boats, and helicopters was initiated but was unsuccessful.

With rescue efforts unsuccessful those first several hours, Erica spent the night alone exposed to the elements with just her bathing suit on. She then had to endure most of the next day in the hot sun as temperatures soared into the high 20s. Finally, just after 5:15 pm on Sunday, the crew of merchant ship MSC Reef spotted Erica as it headed for Tangier in Morocco and pulled her to safety. After spending a whole night and almost a full day on the open ocean, Erica was suffering from an elevated state of hypothermia. She was air lifted on an air force flight from the ship to a nearby hospital and during the flight her condition improved rapidly. A video from the Portuguese Air Force rescue can be seen below.

Erica had first-degree sunburn but was otherwise physically unharmed, according to a psychologist from the National Institute of Medical Emergency. On Monday, she was recovering with her parents by her side.

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