Veteran surfer Márcio Freire died Thursday in Portugal in a surfing accident. He was 47.
The Portuguese Surfing Federation confirmed Freire’s death in a statement. Translated to English, the federation wrote, “The Portuguese Surfing Federation regrets the tragic death, in Nazaré, of Brazilian surfer Márcio Freire. To the bereaved family and the big wave surfing community, our condolences.”
Local authorities for the beach where Márcio Freire died shared additional information in a release. “An experienced surfer of Brazilian nationality died today,” a statement from the local maritime control read, translated into English.
According to the Municipality of Nazaré, Freire “had an accident while surfing, which left him lifeless,” at a beach near Nazaré.
Other surfers who were at the scene “proceeded to rescue the surfer to the beach” where lifeguards and firefighters attempted to resuscitate him. “Despite all efforts, resuscitation manoeuvres ended up being unsuccessful, and death was declared by the doctor present at the scene,” the statement continued.
“The Municipality of Nazaré presents its deepest condolences to the entire bereaved family as well as to the entire surfing community and leaves a public thank you to everyone who did everything to avoid this outcome.”
According to SurferToday, Freire’s body was transported to the Legal Medicine Institute in Leiria.
Freire had been surfing since he was young and eventually became a star in the surfing community. In 2016, he was one of three surfers featured in the documentary “Mad Dogs.”