At least 17 migrants have died on a small boat that had been adrift for 15 days and was trying to reach the coasts of the Balearic Islands with a total of 19 people on board. According to the Government Delegation in the Balearic Islands, the two sole survivors of the journey explained to Maritime Rescue after being rescued that the boat left the coasts of North Africa with 19 people on board who died over the two weeks they remained adrift.
At three in the morning this Tuesday, the Civil Guard rescued two people of Maghreb origin who were adrift 12 miles southwest of the island of Mallorca. The two occupants of the boat required urgent medical assistance, as they showed signs of dehydration and malnutrition. Both were transferred to the reference hospital Son Espases in Palma, where they were admitted and are recovering favorably.
According to the Government Delegation, the two survivors explained that the small boat left with 19 people on board intending to reach the Spanish coasts. However, at a certain point in the journey, the boat was left adrift. For 15 days they were at the mercy of the sea and 17 people died. The survivors recounted that they were throwing the bodies into the sea.
The ship Rosalind Franklin of the Balearia shipping company, which covers the route between Barcelona and Algeria, was the one that raised the alarm upon locating the two people adrift on the boat around three in the morning. Despite the survivors’ account, Maritime Rescue alerted sailors and mobilized the Helimer vessel to search the area near where the rescue took place.
The President of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Marga Prohens, has “deeply” regretted the death of these people, an episode she considers highlights “the harshest face of the migration drama.” The leader of the Balearic Executive has held the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, responsible for not recognizing the migration problem on the islands and denounced that in less than 24 hours nearly a hundred people have arrived on the islands in irregular boats and arrivals have surged by 17%. “Sánchez must act at the source, in foreign policy, protecting our borders, activating Frontex, and the first step to act is not to deny reality, because whoever denies the reality of what is happening on this Mediterranean route is also responsible,” she said. This Tuesday, around four in the morning, another 15 migrants were also rescued 30 miles southwest of the island of Ibiza.
