Grandfather and girl drowned off ‘danger’ coast

Fishermen recovered the bodies of Lara Lewis and Brian O’Dwyer, 66, from choppy waters near the holiday resort of Nazare, around 60 miles north of Lisbon.

It is thought Lara was walking with her grandparents along a sandy beach when they were all pulled into the sea by strong waves at about 2pm on Tuesday.

Her grandmother was rescued off Salgado beach by local seamen and she was taken to hospital.

Lara’s parents, Philip Lewis, a professor at University College London, and Sian Lewis, are believed to have been sunbathing in the picturesque fishing village when the incident happened.

Neighbours in Hackney, east London, yesterday described them as a “happy and loving” family. Relatives at the house in Glenarm Road said they were too upset to speak.

Jorge Barroso, mayor of Nazare municipality, yesterday described the deaths as a “regrettable accident”.

He added: “The accident happened on a beach with a sea considered very dangerous and in an area without surveillance.

“The municipality of Nazare advises tourists and visitors who are willing to enjoy our coast, to go to safeguarded beaches, and always respect the safety rules and directions given by lifeguards.”

A spokesman for the Maritime Authority in Nazare said the part of the beach where the incident happened is widely known to be hazardous.

“The sea in that beach is very dangerous. The wave that swept them in was very big.

“The beach has information that tells you about that area where they were and it tells you there’s no surveillance, no lifeguards, on that part of the beach. It’s very far from where they are stationed.”

He said two local fishermen brought the bodies back to the shore, where lifeguards were the first on the scene and attempted first aid on the beach.

Pictures of the scene showed firefighters crouching down in the sand in the afternoon sunshine, about to move the victims. It is thought the emergency services attempted to revive Lara for nearly an hour.

David Mason, a translator who lives next door to the Lewis family, said he had known Lara since she was a baby.

“I remember them bringing her home in her dad’s arms and they were such a happy family,” he added. “She was a very happy girl who would always say ‘hello, Dave’ when she saw me.

“This is terribly sad news and for a lot of people it’s still sinking in. They were well-known across the community and a lot of people are very upset by the news.”

Mr Mason said Lara was due to start school nearby in September.

“You expect young children to be almost invulnerable. She was so full of life,” he said.

“This is a close community and people will react in different ways. We just all wish it hadn’t happened.

“We will all have to work out how to deal with it but anything they want or need as a family, we will do for them.”

Another neighbour said: “She was a lovely girl. She used to walk down the street with her mum as happy as anything – she was always smiling. It’s very, very sad and I feel for the family.”

Professor Jon French, head of the Department of Geography at University College London, said in a statement: “All of us at UCL are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic drowning yesterday, in Portugal, of Lara Lewis, daughter of Philip Lewis, professor of remote sensing in the Department of Geography.

“The loss of Lara and of her grandfather, who was also drowned in this same incident, is a truly heartbreaking tragedy and our deepest condolences go to Professor Lewis and his family.”

The Foreign Office is in touch with local authorities in the country.