The Atlantic migration route from West Africa to the Canary Islands is considered one of the most dangerous in the world. Emergencies are part of everyday life there. Now there has been an extraordinary rescue operation.
The crew of a cruise ship en route from Cape Verde to the Canary Islands rescued dozens of migrants who were in distress on a boat in the Atlantic.
The rescue operation took place on Thursday, a good 800 kilometers south of the Spanish island of Tenerife, the Spanish rescue service said. The cruise ship “Insignia” docked in Santa Cruz de Tenerife with 67 living and 4 dead migrants, it said.
According to the information, almost all of the rescued migrants, including three children aged between seven and nine, come from sub-Saharan African countries. Five of those rescued were taken to hospital due to injuries or severe dehydration. A pregnant woman was also admitted as a precaution.
At least six dead
At least six people died on the boat, wrote the rescue service on Platform X. Due to the stormy sea, the crew of the cruise ship was unable to recover two bodies.
According to the accounts of those rescued, the death toll could be even higher than 30. There were reportedly more than a hundred people on the boat when it set sail from Mauritania in northwest Africa. Survivors said that numerous bodies were thrown overboard during the crossing, reported the state television station RTVE.
The spokeswoman for the Spanish Red Cross, Marcela Posca, said she had spoken to several of the rescued people. They said they had already been at sea for almost three weeks when they were found. Most of the migrants are now doing well considering the circumstances, Posca was quoted as saying by RTVE in Tenerife.
Passengers are touched by the crew’s commitment
“It was very hard. You are in a fantasy world and suddenly you are confronted with the sad reality,” a passenger on the cruise ship told RTVE. Her husband highlighted the crew’s efforts: “They fed them (the migrants brought on board), washed them, cared for them and provided them with medical care.”
For some time now, more refugee boats have been arriving on the Canary Islands, around 100 kilometers off the northwest coast of Africa. According to the latest survey by the Interior Ministry in Madrid, there were almost 19,000 migrants this year up to June 15. That is around 220 percent more than in the same period last year.
Source: Stern
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