Migrants journey from Nigeria to Canary Islands balanced on ship’s rudder | Refugees

The Spanish coastguard has rescued three migrants who stowed away on a tanker that arrived within the Canary Islands from Nigeria by balancing on its rudder simply above the waterline.

In {a photograph} distributed on Twitter by the coastguard on Monday, the three stowaways are proven perched on the rudder of the oil and chemical tanker Alithini II.

The Maltese-flagged Alithini II arrived in Las Palmas in Gran Canaria on Monday afternoon after an 11-day voyage from Lagos in Nigeria, in accordance with Marine Visitors, a ship-tracking web site.

The migrants have been taken into the port and attended to by well being providers for dehydration and hypothermia, the coastguard stated on Twitter.

Arrivals of migrants within the Canaries, after a dangerous crossing from north Africa, have elevated dramatically since late 2019 after checks on Mediterranean routes have been tightened.

In October 2020, 4 folks stowed away on the rudder of an oil tanker from Lagos, hiding for 10 days earlier than they have been found by police because the vessel got here into Las Palmas.

Spanish information exhibits migration by sea to the archipelago jumped 51% within the first 5 months of the yr in contrast with a yr earlier.

Hundreds of individuals die every year on the voyage, which is more and more perilous by way of rickety picket or inflatable boats.