Overview
- The 11‑metre French‑flagged yacht Ti’fare went down about 45 nautical miles off Peniche after orcas breached the hull.
- All five aboard—a French‑Portuguese couple and their daughters aged 8, 10 and 12—were uninjured after abandoning to a raft and calling for help.
- The Navy directed the fishing vessel Silmar to recover the family, and a Portuguese Air Force EH‑101 Merlin airlifted them to Montijo for medical checks.
- The Air Force published an operations report and rescue video, providing official confirmation of the sequence and outcome.
- Portugal’s maritime authority reports 61 orca encounters in 2025 as experts describe these events as interactions under study, often involving rudder focus and mostly juvenile animals.