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ARCHIVED - Migrant boat sinks off Gran Canaria leaving 24 people missing
36 people were rescued and one lifeless body pulled from the sea off the coast of Spain
A boat has sunk in the Atlantic waters just 244 kilometres south of Gran Canaria, according to Maritime Rescue sources in Spain, leaving 24 missing and one person dead. It is understood that 61 people were travelling on the shipwrecked vessel and when it eventually arrived at the Arguinrguin pier in Mogan, just 36 of the remaining passengers disembarked.
The shipwreck was spotted by the Sasemar 103 patrol plane in the early hours of Tuesday morning, April 26, and two merchant ships operating in the vicinity were contacted to investigate. The tanker Mayoury located the vessel and awaited the arrival of the tide guard Calliope, but official sources claim that the boat had already capsized “before the rescue” operation began.
At around 1am, 24 men, 11 women and one child, along with the lifeless body rescued from the sea, were carried to the port. All of those rescued are understood to be of sub-Saharan origin.
Incredibly, this is the third rescue of its kind off the coast of Gran Canaria in less than 24 hours. At around 6pm on Monday evening, the Caliope rescue boat intercepted a patera carrying 33 people – 29 men, two women and two children – around 68.5 kilometres to the south of Maspalomas.
Less than an hour later, a third boat carrying 47 passengers (32 men and 15 women) was rescued about 76 kilometres southeast of Maspalomas.
Over the course of Monday night and early Tuesday morning, a total of 116 migrants and one body were taken to the Mogan, Gran Canaria port.
Also of interest: 1 in 5 migrant deaths occur en route to the Canary Islands
Image: Salvamento Maritimo
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