ACN
Last Sunday, around 8:20 p.m., the Command and Control Center of the Comprehensive External Surveillance System (S.I.V.E.) in Fuerteventura, detected a signal on the high seas indicating a possible boat with immigrants sailing at a speed of four knots (8 kilometers per hour) and heading Northwest.
Quickly, the 'Almirante Díaz Pimienta' Patrol Boat of the Maritime Service of the Civil Guard moved to the indicated place, managing to intercept the boat 5 miles from the La Entallada Lighthouse (Tuineje). The rescue of its occupants was complicated due to the strong wind in the area and the overloading of the boat.
Finally, all the immigrants, 38 sub-Saharan adult males, were rescued by the Civil Guard and transferred to a Maritime Rescue boat, being taken to the Gran Tarajal Dock where they received humanitarian assistance from the Red Cross.
While this was happening, the S.I.V.E. detected another signal on the high seas, exactly at 10:08 p.m., this time at a distance of 6 miles south of the La Entallada Lighthouse.
Again, the Civil Guard Patrol Boat came to meet them, managing to locate it, at which point the boat was sailing with a significant leak in its hull and with an imminent danger of sinking. The crew of the Patrol Boat rescued all its occupants, 35 sub-Saharan adult males, who were transferred to Gran Tarajal, while the empty boat sank during the rescue.
The immigrants, mostly from Mali and Gambia, were in good health, except for some mild cases of hypothermia and physical exhaustion.
Once identified, they were transferred to the Foreigners Internment Center of El Matorral (Puerto del Rosario).
