The Public Prosecutor’s Office Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife requests 8 and a half years in prison for each of the two skippers of a small boat that left Senegal and after ten days of travel he reached the coast of Los Cristianos (Tenerife) with 82 people, 18 of them minors.
In addition, due to the harshness of the journey, a migrant died from severe hyperosmolar dehydration that caused multiple organ failure a few hours before arrival in Tenerife.
The indictment, collected by Europa Press, indicates that the occupants of the boat paid about 400 euros for the trip and apart from the difficulties of crossing the Atlantic Ocean, they traveled without a safety distance or masks in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The boat was inadequate for a trip of these characteristics, as it was barely 18 meters long and 3 meters wide, propelled by two engines and lacking security and stability measures to face the conditions of a journey on the high seas, since they lacked, even, of life jackets, tools to repair breakdowns, position lights or means of protection from the sun, wind or rain.
In addition, they had little food and drink, which led to the death of one of the occupants of the boat.
The Prosecutor’s Office considers that the facts constitute the crimes of favoring irregular immigration and reckless homicide and the two employers are in provisional prison.
The trial is held next Wednesday at 09:45 am in the second section of the Provincial Court.
