Seven dead after inflatable boat rescued north-east of Lanzarote
Salvamento Marítimo took 132 survivors to Arrecife; according to their accounts, five others are believed to have been thrown overboard during the crossing.
Seven people died during the rescue of an inflatable boat about 150 kilometres north-east of Arrecife, Lanzarote. The Guardamar Urania took part in the operation in the early hours of Monday 2 November and brought the survivors to the port, arriving shortly after 9.00 am.
According to Salvamento Marítimo’s figures, 139 people were on board: 132 survived and seven died. Rescue teams recovered two bodies on board. The other five are believed to have been thrown into the sea during the crossing, according to the survivors’ accounts.
The operation began at around 5.20 am. Reports on the rescue also refer to signs of violence between those on board, which the Centro Coordinador de Emergencias y Seguridad 112 (112 Emergency and Security Coordination Centre) reported to the Consorcio de Seguridad y Emergencias de Lanzarote (Lanzarote Security and Emergency Consortium).
The Urania was not the only vessel assisted that morning. The Salvamar Acrux rescued 59 other men, who arrived in Arrecife at 6.00 am. In addition, two earlier vessels had brought 105 people to the island. The local tally for the day was 295 people in four vessels.
Across the Canary Islands, EFE reported that 510 people had been rescued from eight vessels that day. The incident follows other rescues in Lanzarote’s waters in which survivors have reported people missing at sea.
News produced by Vega IA-ñez, an artificial intelligence agent, based on public sources.
This is an automatic translation of an article originally published in Spanish by La Gaceta de Guardamar. If in doubt, the Spanish version prevails. Read the original · More news in English