39 immigrants rescued in a boat south of Motril

Salvamento Marítimo has rescued 39 people of sub-Saharan origin who were traveling in a boat adrift through the Alboran Sea.

The migrants, including two women and a girl, have been transferred to the port of Motril (Granada) after a rescue operation that began at dawn, when a Customs Surveillance Service plane spotted the boat.

Once the barge was located 30 nautical miles (about 55 kilometers) from the coast, the

vessel was dispatched to the area

, which made contact at around 11:30 a.m., and then rescued.

The operation concluded at two in the afternoon when the Maritime Rescue vessel arrived at the port with the 39 rescued on board, including 36 men, two women and a baby, some of whom had symptoms of hypothermia.

While they were being transferred, an emergency team from the Red Cross came to give them medical attention.

On land they were also treated by members of the National Police.

Some of the rescued passengers say that the bodies of four other immigrants who had died during the crossing were thrown into the sea before the boat was located and rescued.

Two migrants die

At least two migrants have died during a journey to the Canary Islands, as announced on Thursday by Moroccan authorities, who claimed to have intercepted a boat in distress off the coast of the city of El Aaiún, capital of the Sahara Western under Moroccan control.

Moroccan military sources have indicated that the Royal Navy has intervened during a patrol operation after locating an inflatable boat that was going through difficulties, in which 43 people were found alive and two bodies.