Reality instead of a fantasy world Cruise ship rescues almost 70 migrants off the Canary Islands - several dead

The crew of a cruise ship on its way from Cape Verde to the Canary Islands has rescued dozens of migrants in distress on a boat in the Atlantic. The rescue operation took place on Thursday a good 800 kilometers south of the island of Tenerife, which belongs to Spain, the Spanish rescue service announced on Friday.

Keystone-SDA

21.06.2024, 20:26

SDA

The cruise ship "Insignia" docked in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Friday morning with 67 living and 4 dead migrants, it said.

Almost all of the rescued migrants, including three children between the ages of seven and nine, were reportedly from sub-Saharan Africa. Five of those rescued were taken to hospital due to injuries or severe dehydration. A pregnant woman was also admitted as a precaution.

Numerous bodies thrown overboard

At least six people died on the boat, the rescue service wrote on Platform X. Due to the stormy sea, the crew of the cruise ship was unable to recover two bodies. According to the stories of those rescued, however, the death toll could even be over 30. More than a hundred people are said to have been on the boat when it set sail from Mauritania in northwest Africa. Survivors reported that numerous bodies had been thrown overboard during the crossing, according to the state television station RTVE.

The spokesperson for the Spanish Red Cross, Marcela Posca, explained that she had spoken to several of those rescued. They told her that they had already been at sea for almost three weeks when they were found. Posca was quoted by RTVE on Tenerife as saying that most of the migrants are now doing well, given the circumstances.

Passengers are touched by the crew's efforts

"It was very hard. You are in a fantasy world and are suddenly confronted with the sad reality," a passenger on the cruise ship told RTVE. Her husband emphasized the dedication of the crew: "They fed them (the migrants brought on board), washed them, cared for them and provided them with medical care."

More refugee boats have been arriving on the Canary Islands, around 100 kilometers off the northwest coast of Africa, for some time now. According to the latest survey by the Ministry of the Interior in Madrid, there were almost 19,000 migrants this year up to June 15. That is around 220 percent more than in the same period last year.