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A 17-year-old is recovering from spending 20 hours stranded on a stand-up paddle board after being swept more than 40 kilometres off the Portuguese coast.
Erica Vicente, from Azeitão, south of Lisbon, was paddle boarding on the well-touristed Algarve coast late on Saturday afternoon when the wind and ocean currents pushed her out to sea, local media reports.
Her father immediately called emergency services, sparking an unsuccessful search involving cars, boats and helicopters.
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Wearing only a bikini, she spent the night alone exposed to the cold and most of the next day in the hot sun as temperatures soared into the high 20s.
Finally, just after 5.15pm on Sunday (2.15am on Saturday AEST), the crew of merchant ship MSC Reef spotted the girl as it headed for Tangier in Morocco and pulled her to safety.
After a whole night and almost a full day on the open ocean, Erica was suffering from an elevated state of hypothermia, authorities said, but improved rapidly on the air force flight to hospital.
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She had first-degree sunburn but was otherwise physically unharmed, according to a psychologist from the National Institute of Medical Emergency.
Even with such a positive result, Sonia Cunha from the institute's Crisis Support and Intervention Centre said the incident was "potentially traumatic".
Horácio Guerreiro, one of the doctors responsible for her recovery in Faro Hospital, said the "exhausted" 17-year-old was a "warrior".
"With so much time in the sea, in conditions of maximum stress, it's surprising for everyone," he said.
"You need survival instinct, self-control. This girl is a heroine, no doubt."
Port captain and Vila Real de Santo António and Tavira Maritime Police local commander Afonso Martins said the first rescuers arrived within 25 minutes of Erica's dad raising the alarm, and merchant ships such as the MSC Reef were also warned to be on the lookout.
He said the girl "panicked, got scared and couldn't paddle".
Her dad was nearby and dived into the water but couldn't reach her, left to watch on as his daughter floated away, Martins said.
Almost a whole day later, following an almost moonless night that further complicated rescue efforts, Erica was finally rescued.
On Monday, she was recovering with her parents by her side.
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