British woman, 85, killed after storm at Portuguese campsite

An 85-year-old British woman has died after an extreme wind storm struck a campsite in Portugal.

Two others were seriously injured and three sustained minor injuries at Albufeira Camping Park in the Algarve, Faro’s district commander for rescue operations told a press conference.

At a nearby hotel, which was also hit by the storm late on Saturday morning, 23 people were slightly injured, he added.

National meteorological office IPMA said it was assessing whether there had been a tornado in the area, with radar images indicating the likelihood was very high.

It is difficult to predict when or where tornadoes might occur, the IPMA added.

The storm hit the area around 11:00 GMT on Saturday and lasted until 15:00, it said.

Video filmed at the campsite shows fallen trees, debris strewn across the ground and vehicles with broken windows.

Among the 28 injured across both sites in Albufeira there are six children, aged between two months and seven years, who were all lightly injured, and 23 adults, aged between 24 and 70, Portugal’s National Medical Emergency Institute said.

Luis Montenegro, prime minister of Portugal, expressed “heartfelt condolences” to the family of the British woman who died, and wished a “speedy recovery” to those who were injured.

Portugal’s Civil Protection responded with “full commitment and the greatest possible speed”, he wrote in a post on X, adding: “Unfortunately, serious consequences could not be avoided.”

Portugal and parts of neighbouring Spain have been severely affected by Storm Claudia over the past two days. On Thursday, an elderly couple died in Lisbon after their home was flooded, rescuers said.

Faro, Setúbal and Beja – also in southern Portugal – remain under an orange warning for persistent rain on Saturday, sometimes heavy and accompanied by thunderstorms, according to the IPMA website.