The Salvamento Marítimo launch, Salvamar Gienah, rescued 45 immigrants and brought them into Motril Port last weekend.
Most of the immigrants, who had managed to reach the IAlboran Islandwere from Bangladesh. However, the eight women, and seven children between the ages of one and three, were SubSaharan; i.e. from south of the Sahara Desert.
They explained that they had set off from a beach on the northern coast of Morocco, without specifying the exact location, and managed to reach the Spanish-owned, Alboran Island. This tiny island or islet is uninhabited except for a military garrison.
Following the established protocol, they were checked for Covid by Red Cross volunteers and then handed over to the Policía Nacional so that they could be housed in the Temporary Care Center for Emigrants (CATE) within the port confines for the next 72 hours. After that, depending on each individual case, they will be returned or processed in order to stay.
(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia – Photo Alba Feixa)