Spanish authorities on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, said migrants rescued in Spain’s Canary Islands, after an 11-day journey from Nigeria crouched on the rudder of a fuel tanker, should be returned home under stowaway laws.
The three stowaways are shown crouching on the rudder under the hull, just above the waterline of the Alithini II in a photograph by Spanish coast guard on Monday, November 28, 2022.
The 183-metre ship, sailing under a Maltese flag, arrived in Las Palmas in Gran Canaria after setting out from Lagos in Nigeria on November 17, 2022, navigating the West African coast.
A police spokesperson said it was up to the ship’s operator to take care of stowaways, provide them with temporary accommodation and return them to their origin as soon as possible.
However, Helena Maleno, director of migration of the non-governmental organisation Walking Borders, said the migrants may be able to remain in Spain if they claim asylum.
“On several previous occasions, stowaways were able to remain in Spain with political asylum,” Maleno said.
The coast guard said the migrants were rescued by a coast guard vessel at about 7 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) on Monday.
The Canary Islands emergency services and the Red Cross said the stowaways were being treated for moderate dehydration and hypothermia.
One of the migrants was in a more serious state and had to be taken to a different hospital on the island.