Irish tourist fighting for life after vicious Algarve attack

AN Irish tourist was last night fighting for his life after he was repeatedly stabbed in a popular Algarve tourist resort.

The victim, who is in his 30s, was knifed during an attack by two men in the lively resort of Praia da Rocha, near Portimao, at just after 5am on Sunday.

He was taken to a nearby hospital before being transferred to Sao Jose Hospital in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, because of the severity of his injuries.

Police are understood to still be hunting the attackers, who are thought to have been involved in an altercation with the victim before the stabbing, which took place on a street called Avenida Tomas Cabreira. One line of investigation is that the Irish man was the victim of a mugging, and he may have chased the two men before being stabbed.

TV pictures of the scene of the crime showed blood stains, including bloodied footprints, on the cobblestones where the attack happened.

Fight

The investigation into the stabbing is being led by Portugal’s Policia Judiciaria.

“Some people say there may have been a fight in a bar earlier,” a police source said last night.

Both the possibility that the incident was a fight that started in the bar and continued outside, and the theory it was a violent mugging, are being investigated. A witness saw two guys running away,” said the source. He described them as white-skinned and gave officers a rough description of what they were wearing.

“He thought they may have been Portuguese.

“The victim was stabbed under his left armpit, which is a very sensitive area, and the bleeding was severe.

“He was operated on on Sunday afternoon.”

Another source close to the inquiry said: “More credibility is now being given to the theory this was a mugging and not a drunken fight.

“It is believed now the victim may have retaliated when confronted by muggers and the criminals stabbed him in response.