Questioned by the Lusa agency, the municipal council in the Lisbon district clarified that the north cliff presents a “high risk” of collapse over a length of 60 meters.

“The most pronounced land movement occurred around three weeks ago” and “has not yet stabilised”, added the municipality.

Given the instability of the beach's northern cliff, the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and Municipal Civil Protection ordered the closure of the northern pedestrian access “for an indefinite period of time” for safety reasons.

Violation of the ban is punishable by a fine of between 30 and 100 euros.

The municipality clarified that access to the beach is not at stake, as the main access is in the south area, which connects the car park to the beach support and the supervised bathing area.

Taking into account the approach of the bathing season, no other action is planned other than the ban and the respective warning signs.

The instability of the cliff is being monitored by the municipality and APA, which may adopt other solutions that include geotechnical stabilisation works.