A migrant boat carrying 152 people – including 15 minors and a deceased man – has been rescued.
The passengers aboard the makeshift wooden boat had spent 15 days at sea.
They were picked up by Spain’s maritime rescue service, Salvamento Marítimo, on Wednesday (9 Sep) around 29 nautical miles south of El Hierro.
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El Hierro is the southernmost and least-visited of Spain’s major Canary Islands.
The improvised wooden boat had set off from Bato Kunku, a small village in Gambia.
The body of a man who died during the crossing was also recovered from the vessel.
Ten survivors required medical assistance for dehydration, hypothermia, abdominal pain, disorientation and ulcers on their buttocks.
Seven, including a two-year-old girl, were taken to hospital, as reported by Need To Know.
The boat was at the mercy of strong winds and rough seas when it called for help at around 7:20 pm.
Two Salvamento Marítimo rescue vessels headed to the area after a helicopter located the boat.
The survivors were brought to safety, and the deceased’s body was recovered at around 9 pm.
The empty boat, known as a cayuco in Spanish, was later left adrift because of the poor weather conditions.
The survivors – from Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Mali and Ivory Coast – arrived at the port of La Restinga at around 3 am on Thursday (10 September).
The adult survivors included 115 men and 22 women.
Meanwhile, another cayuco carrying 51 migrants, including three minors, reached La Restinga port under its own power on Thursday morning.
All 51 passengers disembarked in good health.
The migrants – nationals of Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea – said they had set off from M’Bour, Senegal, nine days earlier.
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