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Father and Daughter Team Up to Rescue Giant Turtle Trapped in Net

A tour group on a boat off the Portuguese coast were witness to an incredible rescue of a leatherback turtle that had become entangled in a fishing net on August 9.

Luis Lourenco and his daughter, Elisia O’Hagan-Lourenco, who run Alvor Boat Trips in the seaside resort town of Alvor, came to the aid of the turtle as it struggled to swim in the netting.

Elisia told Storyful that she and her father were leading the group on a dolphin-watching trip when they came upon the turtle, wondering why it had “stopped,” in the water, only to discover the fishing nets surrounding it, leaving it “unable to move.”

“It was incredible how this huge turtle was able to come to the surface to breathe,” she told Storyful, as the fishing net was quite lengthy. The footage shows Elisia cutting the netting to free the turtle, with her father helping out during the final moments of the rescue.

“We are determined to look after the sea creatures we see on our trips. This is why we wanted to help this turtle and free it from these man-made obstructions,” she said. Credit: Alvor Boat Trips via Storyful