86 migrants were rescued on Monday afternoon July 10th off the Canary Islands during an operation carried out by Spanish maritime rescue. On Sunday, the migrant aid organization Walking Borders said three canoes that left the Senegalese coast in late June with nearly 300 migrants on board were missing.
It was the overflight of a search plane from the Spanish authorities which made it possible to locate the canoe on the morning of this Monday, July 10th. In the process, a rescue ship was sent to the area where the boat is located 70 nautical miles, 130 kilometers, south of the Canary Archipelago. A merchant ship was also diverted, at the request of the Spanish authorities.
Following the overflight, the sea rescue service indicated that about 200 people were on the canoe and estimated that it was indeed the boat sought for 15 days, which had left Kafountine in Casamance on June 27th, which had been localized.
The emergency services admitted that they had made a mistake in their estimate, which was difficult to establish from an airplane. The operation should end in the evening with the repatriation of the 86 rescued migrants, 80 men and 6 women, to the island of Gran Canaria.