The Guardamar Polimnia Maritime Rescue has rescued 49 people who were asking for help aboard an inflatable boat, located 37 nautical miles from Lanzarote. The operation took place at 14.10 hours this Wednesday and rescued eight children and eight women, according to the Emergency Coordination Center (CECOES).
The NGO Caminando Fronteras alerted early in the day that there was a boat with 61 people "sinking" and asking for help north of Lanzarote. Maritime Rescue, after locating the boat around noon, came to their rescue and reduces the members to 49.
The migrants, all of them in apparent good health, are expected to reach the Commercial dock, in Arrecife, at around 16:00, local Canary time. According to the Efe agency, this zodiac, which is believed to have left from Tan Tan (Morocco), was spotted by the Salvamento Sasemar 101 plane.
This boat is the fifth inflatable boat rescued this April 19 in Canary waters, after the Guardamar assisted another 235 people of sub-Saharan origin at sea this morning, including 38 women and six children, of which 121 disembarked at the dock of Gran Tarajal (Fuerteventura) and another 114 have been transferred to the port of Arguineguín (Gran Canaria).
The lack of means of transport forced all the people who arrived on the island of Majorera to sleep outdoors on the dock.
