A new shipwreck causes tragedy on the route to the Canary Islands. Seven people disappeared after an accident involving an inflatable boat with around 52 people on board 78 kilometers east of Lanzarote, sea rescue sources said and survivors reported.
The shipwreck of the inflatable boat occurred on the evening of this Sunday. At 6:15 p.m., the Moroccan fishing vessel Maranda Octavo contacted emergency services after spotting an inflatable boat with too many people on board. Authorities asked the boat to remain in the area while the Guardamar Polimnia left Arrecife. However, when rescue workers arrived on site between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., the Zodiac had already sunk.
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The Maranda Octavo rescued castaways from the water, a task that involved the rescue helicopter Helimer 204. The fishing boat picked up 41 people from the water – 33 men, four women and four minors of Maghreb origin – who were on the ship added two others who were rescued by Polyhymnia. The national company is aware that at least two people may have disappeared. However, when the survivors arrived on land, they warned that seven were missing: three men, three women and a child aged about four, sources in the rescue services involved in the relief effort told Efe.
The tragedy marked the start of a hectic night for rescue teams. An hour and a half later, back in port, Polimnia helped another 50 men and one woman of Maghreb and sub-Saharan origin who were in another rubber boat 81 kilometers from the island. At around 2:00 a.m., a boat with 31 people from the Maghreb and sub-Saharan countries on board, including one woman, arrived alone at the port of Los Mármoles in Arrecife.
Shortly afterwards, a fourth boat was rescued by Salvamar Al Nair, with 44 men and one woman on board, all of North African origin. Already on Monday morning, the Guardamar Polimnia and the Salvamar Al Nair rescued another hundred people in two other boats in waters near Lanzarote: a group of 48 North Africans (46 men and two women) and another of 49 people from sub-Saharan countries (43 Men). , five women and one minor). A seventh boat was delivered south of Gran Canaria with around 60 people, some of whom were in poor health.
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