Maritime Rescue is searching for three of the four immigrants who jumped into the water early this morning from the inflatable boat they were using to reach the Canary Islands along with 54 other immigrants, after seeing that a merchant ship had located them, a spokesperson for the state-owned company has informed EFE.
One of those four people was able to be rescued from the water by the Guardamar Polimnia, the vessel that was in charge of assisting their 54 fellow travelers. In total, 42 men, 11 women, and two minors have arrived on land at the port of Arrecife.
The other three people who jumped into the sea are still missing, and the search for them involves the merchant ship that spotted their inflatable boat, the Guardamar Polimnia, the Helimer 215 helicopter, and a Salvamento plane is expected to join them.
The latter is also tasked with confirming the possible presence of more boats with immigrants in that area of the Atlantic, as several departure notices have been received in recent hours.
The 55 survivors from the inflatable boat were rescued at 01:26 hours, 83 kilometers east of Lanzarote, and arrived in Arrecife at approximately 05:00, in an operation coordinated by Maritime Rescue of Las Palmas and directed by the Maritime Authority of the province.
