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Spanish authorities diverted the Insignia, a cruise ship, to rescue the migrants. The Insignia crew also recovered three of the five bodies on the fishing boat.
A cruise ship rescued 68 migrants and found five bodies in a traditional fishing boat that was drifting off the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Spain’s maritime rescue agency said that an oil tanker travelling from northwestern Spain to Brazil spotted the drifting boat about 815 kilometres (506 miles) south of Tenerife, one of the seven islands in the Canaries archipelago.
Spanish authorities diverted the Insignia, a cruise ship, to rescue the migrants. The Insignia crew also recovered three of the five bodies on the fishing boat. The remains of two people were left at sea because of bad weather hampering their recovery. The canoe-shaped boats, known as pirogues, are used by fishermen in Mauritania and Senegal.
The Marshall Islands-flagged Insignia had left Mindelo, a port city in Cape Verde, on Tuesday. Its operator, Miami-based Oceania Cruises, did not immediately comment on the rescue. The Spanish rescue agency emailed a statement saying the Insignia is expected to arrive at the port of Santa Cruz, Tenerife.
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The Canary Islands is a destination for boats packed with migrants departing from northwestern Africa on a perilous Atlantic route in search of a better life in Europe. Spain’s Interior Ministry says a record 55,618 migrants arrived by boat — most of them in the Canary Islands — last year, almost double the number of the previous year. More than 23,000 have landed so far this year, the ministry said.
