In a series of interventions in the Velebit Channel, four foreign nationals were rescued, while an intensive search continues for three more Portuguese citizens. Meanwhile, a Slovenian sailor struck a fish farm on Dugi Otok.
A strong bura wind that hit the Adriatic caused a chaotic night for maritime services. The National Coordination Center for Search and Rescue at Sea reported on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, several dramatic rescue operations in the Velebit Channel, where citizens of the Czech Republic, Italy, and Portugal were put in danger.
The first report of a perilous situation came on Tuesday evening at 9:23 PM. The County Dispatch Center ŽC 112 Gospić received a call from two young Czech citizens who found themselves at sea on a SUP board. Due to the noise of the storm, their shock, and their lack of English, communication was difficult.
Despite this, the National Center, in cooperation with other services, quickly located the most likely position, north of the islet of Zečevo and the bay of Mala Luka on the island of Krk. Officers from the Senj Harbor Master's Office immediately set sail and found the duo on the SUP board at 10:31 PM. After boarding them onto the rescue boat and providing refreshments, they transported them to safety in Sv. Juraj.
Just a few hours later, at 5:06 AM, another intervention followed in the Velebit Channel. The coastal radio station ORP Rijeka-radio received an urgent call for a 10-meter sailboat that had lost power. On board were two crew members, Italian citizens, who were drifting uncontrollably under the force of the bura in front of the town of Stinice.
The crew of the motor ferry "Barbat," owned by Rapska plovidba, responded to the call. They managed to take the sailboat in tow near Cape Glavina on the island of Rab, just 300 to 400 meters from the shore, and safely towed it towards Mišnjak.
The third incident occurred on Dugi Otok. At around 2:43 AM tonight, a Slovenian citizen struck a fish farm cage with his own 15-meter boat between Cape Gubac and Cape Žman, near the town of Luka. He reported the accident himself, and there were no injuries or sea pollution. At the time of the accident, there were two people from Slovenia on the boat. The Zadar Harbor Master's Office and the Sali Harbor Master's Office Branch were informed, and the boat's operator will arrange for its tow himself.
Meanwhile, a search and rescue operation is underway for four people from Portugal. They went missing after heading into the Velebit Channel on a small inflatable boat tonight. In Butinj Bay on the island of Krk, a young woman, one of the four missing, was found, while an intensive search continues for the others.
The Portuguese group, consisting of four young citizens, set sail on a small inflatable boat, described as a "beach toy," from a camp near Senj despite the strong bura and bad weather. After a 33-year-old woman was rescued around noon on Wednesday, and a young man was found on the rocky shore near Cape Glavina shortly before 2 PM, the search for the remaining two continued on Thursday at 6 AM, confirmed Senj Harbor Master Nenad Bugarin to Hina.
Unfortunately, the search took a tragic turn. As Jutarnji list unofficially reported this morning, rescuers found the body of one of the two men they were searching for. The information about the body's discovery was published at 8:53 AM, and it was found in front of Zavratnica Bay on the island of Krk, reports 24sata. The search for the other missing Portuguese man continues.
The rescued 33-year-old spent about ten hours in the sea before being spotted. "She was brought to us. She is cared for, with stable vital parameters, and has been admitted for further hospital observation to the Department of Pulmonology. She will remain at the Clinical Hospital Center for some time," said Martina Pavletić, MD, head of the Emergency Department at KBC Rijeka, about her health condition.
The search involves air and maritime units of harbor master's offices and maritime police, a Coast Guard Pilatus PC-9 aircraft, and ground forces of the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service (HGSS). During the night, the search was suspended due to poor visibility, and the search area was expanded west of Vrbnik towards Punta Druženina. "We believe that the people could still be alive at this moment. The sea is warm, they are young people, and they can certainly survive. That's why we continue to search and believe they are alive," rescuers said.
