PROPERTY SEARCH
PROPERTY SEARCH
WATCH: Migrants make it to Canary Islands after eight days on the rudder of a ship
The Nigerian stowaways survived more than a week under the vessel before being rescued off the coast of Spain
Shortly after 10pm on Monday July 10, the mooring crews at the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria discovered that under the stern of the MSC Marta, a huge container ship from Togo bound for Italy, there were two men lying on the rudder blade, a scant metre above the water.
Once the two young men, aged 18 and 22, had been taken to hospital and checked over, it transpired that they had survived for eight days balancing on the huge vessel’s rudder.
The migrants slipped onto the MSC Marta through the helm hole in Lagos.
According to local police, the two men were returned to the ship later the same night and brought back to their own country. Under Spanish law, any stowaway who does not seek asylum must be returned by the operator of the ship to the port of origin.
2 jóvenes nigerianos llegan al puerto en el timón de un 🛳. Fueron ayudados por @salvamentogob gracias al uso de una 🚤, para su posterior traslado por el #SUC a un ðŸ¥
— Policía Portuaria APLP (@PoliciaAPLP) July 11, 2023
Toda vez que se han recuperado, han sido devueltos al 🛳, debiendo ser trasladados al puerto de origen 👮♀ï¸ðŸ‘®â™‚ï¸ pic.twitter.com/fodQyTYgbn
In an unusual twist, during the same voyage the MSC Marta happened upon a canoe carrying 78 migrants, including seven children, off the coast of the Canary Islands. The passengers had been at sea for 15 days after departing Senegal for Spain and the Marta hovered close to the tiny boat to protect it from the wind for more than an hour until help arrived. Had they leaned over the rudder slightly, the two Nigerian stowaways surely would have witnessed the dramatic rescue unfold.
Incredibly, this is not the first time migrants have resorted to such dangerous measures to secure passage to Spain. In November last year, three Nigerians spent 11 days perched precariously on the rudder of the Alithini II oil tanker before arriving safely in Gran Canaria.
Meanwhile, the search continues for a boat that set sail from Kanfountine in southern Senegal bound for Spain on June 27. Several other maritime rescues have taken place in the past two weeks but no trace has been found of the 200 missing migrants aboard.
Images: Policía Portuaria APLP
Read more articles about Illegal Migration
Contact Spanish News Today: Editorial 966 260 896 /
Office 968 018 268
