Eleven women and four minors were among the 103 migrants who arrived in Spain’s Canary Islands aboard two inflatable rafts on Wednesday evening.
The occupants of one craft, 47 men and 11 women from sub-Saharan Africa, were rescued 22 km from Arrecife, the capital of Lanzarote island, Maritime Rescue said, La Voz de Lanzarote reported on Thursday.
Doctors and other first responders were at La Cebolla dock to meet that group of migrants, one of whom was pregnant, who set out from Tarfaya, Morocco, according to the distress call received by authorities in the Spanish archipelago.
While the rescue of the first raft was in progress, another came ashore at Las Caletas beach in Teguise, Lanzarote’s emergency services office said.
The 45 North African males aboard the second craft received assistance from the Red Cross.
Additionally, the three Nigerian men who arrived at the Canary Islands on 29 November after an 11-day journey hidden on top of the rudder of an oil tanker have been permitted to remain in port by the Spanish authorities after they requested asylum, EFE reported.
After a hospital visit, two men were put aboard the Alithini II, but Spanish authorities called for the migrants to stay behind.
The third man, who is recovering from dehydration, remained in the hospital, where he requested international protection after receiving a visit from a member of the Diocese of the Canary Islands.
Since the news of their arrival, the Spanish Commission for Refugees (CEAR), the Catholic Church, and other NGOs have worked to prevent their expulsion from the country without at least assessing their circumstances.
At least 5,684 migrants have died while trying to reach Europe since the beginning of 2021, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported in October.
Some 2,836 people died or went missing on the central Mediterranean route, through which migrants leaving Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria usually attempt to enter Italy or Malta.
Another 1,532 perished on the western route to the Spanish Canary Islands, the IOM had documented.
(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.EURACTIV.es)
Source: euractiv.com
