Shipwreck of a migrant boat in the Atlantic: dozens of victims and 44 survivors rescued in Gran Canaria

A boat full of migrants drifted in the Atlantic for 27 days and was rescued at dawn on Thursday about 65 miles south-east of the island of Gran Canaria. A new massacre of the sea and desperation, the toll of which is destined to worsen with the passing of the hours. At the moment some sources speak of dozens of victims. According to the survivors' story, a total of 128 migrants were traveling on board the gulet, which set sail from Gambia 27 days ago and headed for the Spanish archipelago.

What we know about the shipwreck and the rescue efforts

The new massacre on the migratory route towards the Canary Islands takes place at the height of the crisis linked to the migratory wave that brought thousands of migrants to Ceuta at the end of July. The gulet, the fragile boats used by fishermen in North Africa, was spotted on Wednesday evening about 120 kilometers south-east of Gran Canaria. A Maritime Rescue patrol boat reached the vessel shortly after 11pm, rescuing 44 people, all men of sub-Saharan origins, and found 5 bodies on board. However, adverse sea conditions, with winds of 20 knots and waves of up to 2.5 metres, prevented the recovery of the bodies. Three of the survivors, in serious condition, were transferred by helicopter to the Doctor Negrin university hospital in Gran Canaria. The other 41 migrants landed in the port of Arguineguin at 4.40 am today, rescued by health services and Red Cross volunteers. According to a spokesperson for the NGO Caminando Fronteras, the Guardia Civil confirmed that the inscriptions on the hull of the recovered boat correspond to those of a boat that left on August 7 with 128 people on board, including four women and a newborn baby.

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