Strait of Gibraltar: rescue of three young Moroccans aboard a kayak

Three Moroccans were rescued on Tuesday as they sailed disoriented in a kayak through the Strait of Gibraltar towards Spain. Safe and sound, they were transferred to the port of Algeciras.

The services of Salvamento Marítimo, a public service responsible for maritime security in Spanish waters, rescued three Moroccan migrants on Tuesday (October 4th) as they were disoriented in a kayak in the waters of the Strait of Gibraltar, reported Moroccan media Closes quoting the Spanish agency EFE. The three Moroccans hoped to reach the coasts of Cadiz.

According to rescuers, the operation took place shortly after 4 a.m. when a merchant ship alerted the Traffic Coordination Center in Tarifa (Cadiz) to the presence of a small boat in the strait. The boat was sailing about 4.8 kilometers southeast of Tarifa.

The three migrants, all men, were in good health, it is said. They were transferred to the port of Algeciras.

>> To (re)read: More than 250 migrants on board kayaks, or “even swimming”, recovered by the Moroccan authorities

Kayak crossings are rare, with migrants generally favoring small motorboats.

According to the NGO Caminando Fronteras, the route of the Strait of Gibraltar is one of the four routes taken by migrants to reach Spain, along with the Algerian route, that of Alboran (in the Mediterranean Sea) and that of the Canary Islands. , considered the most dangerous.

In 2021, according to data from the European Border Surveillance System (Eurosur), around 31% of the nearly 42,000 immigrants who arrived irregularly in Spain were Moroccans.

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