SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 21st Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Yesterday, on Saturday, the Maritime Rescue successfully rescued two inflatable boats near Lanzarote carrying 139 migrants, including women and children. Sadly, one individual has been hospitalised in a critical condition. According to reports from the Emergency and Security Coordination Centre (Cecoes) 1-1-2 and the Red Cross, one of the boats’ occupants mentioned that two individuals had perished at sea during the journey.
The rescue mission commenced yesterday morning after the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Las Palmas received an alert about multiple boats departing from the Moroccan town of Tan Tan. The Sasemar 103 aircraft was deployed and sighted several overcrowded boats sailing towards the Canary Islands.
The rescue team promptly mobilised the lifeboat ‘Al Nair’ and the vessel ‘Talía’. The ‘Adnan N’ ship, redirected by maritime controllers, also responded to the distress call. On arrival, the ship spotted a rubber dinghy a mile away and was tasked by the Maritime Rescue Centre to escort it while maintaining a safe distance until the ‘Talía’ vessel arrived.
Around six in the evening, the coast guard completed the rescue of 69 individuals, including 12 women and 16 minors. Some needed to be rescued from the water, but fortunately, all appeared to be in good health despite reporting the loss of two lives during the journey.
By approximately 10:30 pm, they were brought ashore at the port of La Cebolla in Arrecife, where they received medical attention from the Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC), Primary Care staff, and Red Cross volunteers. Three rescued individuals required transfer to the Doctor José Molina Orosa Hospital – two men in stable condition and a woman with a moderate prognosis.
Simultaneously, the rescue boat ‘Al Nair’ set off towards the second inflatable boat, guided to its location by the vessel ‘Sarika Naree’. Despite initial challenges in locating the boat, with the assistance of the rescue boat ‘Talía’, the boat and its 70 sub-Saharan African passengers, including 11 women and 10 minors, were eventually rescued around 7:20 p.m.
The individuals were disembarked in Arrecife, where two 25-year-old women were taken to the Doctor José Molina Orosa Hospital for urgent care – one in a critical state and the other in a stable condition, as reported by 1-1-2 Canarias.
