They found three stowaways at the helm of a ship that had traveled 11 days from Nigeria to the Canary Islands

Three stowaways were found at the helm of a ship in the Canary Islands afterwards 11 day cruise from NigeriaThe Spanish Maritime Rescue Service reported.

The men who were found The second Ithenian tanker In the Spanish port of Las Palmas on Monday Symptoms of dehydration and hypothermia Salvamento Marítimo said they were taken to hospitals on the island for medical care.

survivors They were from NigeriaThe Spanish government delegation in the Canary Islands commented to the agency Palestinian Authority. One of them is still hospitalized on Tuesday.

The agency published a picture of three men sitting at the helm under the huge hull of the ship, their feet inches above the water.

The ship flying the Maltese flag He left Lagos, Nigeria on November 17, and arrived in Las Palmas on Monday, according to the ship-watching website MarineTraffic. The distance is about 4,600 kilometers (2,800 miles).

Others have previously been caught clinging to the rudders as they risk their lives to reach the Spanish islands off northwest Africa. Marine rescue attended Six similar cases in the past two yearsAccording to Sofia Hernandez, who heads the Coordination Center for the Service in Las Palmas.

Migrants can seek refuge inside the boxy hull that surrounds the helm, Hernandez explained, but remain vulnerable to bad weather and rough seas. “It’s very dangerous,” he said. Palestinian Authority.

wiggle level draft Of a ship—the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull—another danger to these stowaways. Levels vary depending on the weight of the cargo on board.

We are talking about the fact that it (may be) a difference of several meters. “This part could be completely submerged in water,” Hernandez commented.

In 2020, a 14-year-old Nigerian boy was interviewed by the Spanish newspaper Country After surviving a two-week voyage at the helm of a ship. I also sailed from Lagos.

“This isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last.”tweeted Txima Santana, journalist and immigration advisor for the regional government of the Canary Islands.

In such cases, the shipowner is generally responsible for returning the stowaways to their point of departure, according to a Spanish government delegation that was in the Canary Islands.

Thousands of migrants and refugees from North and West Africa have arrived intermittently in the Canary Islands in recent years. Most of them begin the dangerous crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in overloaded ships departing from the coast of Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania and even Senegal.

More than 11,600 people have arrived on the Spanish islands this year, according to figures from the Spanish Interior Ministry.

(By Renata Prieto – Associated Press)

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