Costa Blanca
Migrants rescued off Torrevieja after 5 days without food
By m.p. - Nov 18, 2009 - 8:55 AM
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Previous immigrant arrivals on the coast of Valencia - EFE archive
The group of 11 had thrown their engine overboard after it broke down
A group of 11 migrants from Algeria were rescued on Tuesday from a small patera boat adrift off the coast of Torrevieja after spending five days without any food. All the passengers showed symptoms of dehydration and it’s understood that three with more severe symptoms were transferred to hospital.
Their four-metre boat was located 28 miles off shore after it was spotted by fishermen at around 11.30 on Tuesday morning. The migrants are reported to have been at sea for a week when they were found, and had dumped their boat’s engine overboard after it had broken down.
Diario Información reports that bone density testing is to take place on two of the occupants, who claim to be 17, in order to determine their age.
A further 38 migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa were rescued off the Granada coast, six miles from La Rábita, on Tuesday evening.