Tragedy struck when a five-year old British girl Lara Lewis along with her grandfather Brian O’Dwyer, were drowned at the Salgado beach in central Portugal yesterday while faced with choppy seas.

The 66-year old grandfather was pulled out of water, but was already dead. Lara’s grandmother, who was also walking alongside the pair, had also swept away but was pulled alive from the sea by fishermen sailing nearby.

A three-year old grandchild who was with them managed to remain on the beach and raise the alarm. The girl’s parents who were also standing on the beach were unable to reach the pair that swept away. The horrific accident took place shortly before 2 pm at the Salgado beach in the town of Nazare, which is 80 miles north of Lisbon. The authorities said the group were hit by a large wave after they left the area which was being watched over by lifeguards.

The aftermath of the incident showed firefighters involved in an effort to revive the victims. The body of the grandfather was seen to be covered in a blue sheet. The emergency services are believed to have attempted to revive Lara for nearly an hour and gave first aid to the grandmother. She was taken by ambulance to a hospital where her condition stabilised. Lara’s parents were being treated for shock.

Locals said that water was often rough off the beach and that waves were between six and ten feet high when the tragedy happened. The deaths take the number of people who have drowned off Portuguese beaches this summer to eight.

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