SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 6th June (EUROPA PRESS) –
Maritime Rescue has successfully saved a total of 516 migrants who were found on board five cayucos in the waters near the Canary Islands, as confirmed by sources from the organisation to Europa Press.
The initial rescue mission was conducted by the Urania sea guard after 9:00 p.m., rescuing 190 individuals of sub-Saharan descent who arrived early Thursday at the port of La Restinga, in El Hierro.
Earlier, Helimer 201 had rescued a baby and their mother from this canoe, who were later flown to Tenerife South airport.
The second rescue operation, led by the Adhara salvamar, took place after 11:00 p.m., saving 67 sub-Saharan individuals – comprising 62 men and five women – who reached the port of La Restinga in the Canary Islands around 3:50 a.m.
Similarly, three individuals with severe illnesses were airlifted by Helimer 201 from this particular canoe.
Around the same time, a canoe carrying 44 passengers – including three women and two children – issued a distress call to 112 Canarias reporting that they were adrift. Maritime Rescue immediately dispatched the Nízar sea rescue team, who rescued them after 1:00 a.m. and transported them to the port of Los Cristianos in the south of Tenerife.
The fourth rescue mission was conducted by the sea guard vessel Talía at 4:30 a.m., rescuing a total of 160 individuals from sub-Saharan regions – comprising 152 men, eight women, and one minor. They were safely taken to the Arguineguín dock in Mogán (Gran Canaria).
Finally, the Menkalinan sea rescue team saved a fifth boat carrying 55 men, all of sub-Saharan descent, in waters near Tenerife, and brought them to the port of Los Cristianos, where they docked at approximately 10:40 a.m.
