Spain coastguard saves 86 migrants from boat near Canaries

11 Jul 2023 01:10am

Migrants rest on the pier after disembarking from a 'cayuco' (wooden boat) following a rescue operation on July 4, 2023 at the port of Los Cristianos, in the municipality of Arona, in the south of Tenerife, on the Spanish Canary island of Tenerife. A boat with 157 migrants on board, two of them women, has arrived on July 4, 2023 at the port of Los Cristianos, in the municipality of Arona, in the south of Tenerife, on the Spanish Canary island of Tenerife, Red Cross sources have reported. The vessel was located through the Integrated External Surveillance System (SIVE) when it was about 8 miles from the Punta Rasca area, and the Maritime Rescue's vessel Salvamar Alpheratz came out to meet it. The Salvamar Alpheratz accompanied the boat to the port of Los Cristianos, where it arrived at around 4:00 p.m. on July 4, 2023. (Photo by DESIREE MARTIN / AFP)

MADRID, Spain - Spain's coastguard said Monday it had rescued 86 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa from a boat off the Canary Islands that had been spotted earlier in the day by a rescue plane.

Rescuers with Salvamento Maritimo had initially estimated "it could have around 200 people on board" but later said the estimate, made by the plane's crew, was incorrect, telling AFP it was "difficult to determine the number of people from the air."

Among those rescued were 80 men and six women, who would be taken to Arguineguin port on Gran Canaria, the coastguard said, indicating they were expected to arrive around 1900 GMT.

The boat had been spotted about 71 nautical miles south of Gran Canaria with the coastguard saying it was located "in an area where (the plane was) looking for a vessel that left Senegal two weeks ago".

"It's very likely it is the same boat that we've been looking for," the spokeswoman had said. - AFP