The individuals who survived the journey on the small boat chartered in the afternoon on Wednesday 815 kilometers south of El Hierro told the staff caring for them at the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife that they were at sea for between 19 and 20 days.
This was explained by one of the Red Cross doctors caring for them in one of the four tents set up in the area of Muelle Sur, next to where the cruise ship Insignia docked, which rescued 68 people and recovered three of the five bodies found in the boat. During the transfer to Tenerife, a sixth migrant died.
The people on board the boat are from Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Gambia, and Senegal. Among the survivors are three minors and a pregnant woman.
Five of the migrants were taken to the University Hospital of Canarias and the University Hospital Nuestra Señora de La Candelaria due to their health conditions. The pregnant woman is also among those individuals.
At the moment, National Police officers are expected to begin the identification process of 59 migrants in the tents set up in the port area of the Tenerife capital.
The cruise liner Insignia docked in the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife at 5:00, arriving earlier than expected on the island, as it was originally scheduled to arrive between an hour and a half and two hours later.
Arrival of the Insigna II to Tenerife that rescued migrants
Some of the surviving migrants were able to reach the tents set up by the Red Cross on their own, while others were transported by ambulances due to their health conditions.
The rescue of the migrants was carried out by three crew members of the Insignia cruise liner. These professionals hoisted the individuals onto the ship using ropes.
However, this operation took place under very difficult conditions, as there were waves as high as three meters at the location.
The individuals on the boat were very nervous and eager to be taken to a safe place as soon as possible. Two bodies remained on the fishing boat and could not be brought aboard the tourist ship due to the circumstances.
In any case, a deflector was left inside for their location to be facilitated by the Guardamar Urania, from Maritime Rescue, whose professionals will try to recover the bodies.
These professionals applied the established international rescue protocol for these situations and, for that reason, were congratulated this morning by María Dolores Septién Terreros, head of the coordination center of Salvamento in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
From this resource located in the port of the Tenerife capital, the Insignia crew was asked to deviate about 100 kilometers to proceed with the rescue of the survivors from the boat.
On Friday morning, the President of the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Pedro Suárez López de Vergara; the Government Subdelegate, Javier Plata; the Maritime Captain, José Antonio Conde, and María Dolores Septién visited the Insignia. During the visit, a plaque was presented to the captain of the cruise ship, Stjepan Zuzic, as recognition for his solidarity.
