They rescue three migrants who traveled 11 days at the helm of a huge oil tanker

By Renata Brito -

Three migrants were discovered at the helm of an oil tanker in the Canary Islands that sailed for 11 days from Nigeria, Spain's maritime rescue service reported Tuesday.

The three men rescued at the helm of the

ship on Monday afternoon in the port of Las Palmas presented symptoms of dehydration and hypothermia and were taken to hospitals on the Spanish island to receive medical attention, according to Salvamento Marítimo.

Three men at the helm of an oil tanker in the Canary Islands in an image released on November 29, 2022. Salvamento Marítimo via AP

The three migrants were from Nigeria, as confirmed by the Spanish government to The Associated Press news agency.

One of them was still hospitalized on Tuesday.

According to the MarineTraffic website, the Maltese-flagged vessel left the port of Lagos, Nigeria, on November 17, and arrived in Las Palmas on Monday.

Between both cities there are about 2,800 miles.

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It is not the first time that migrants have risked their lives clinging to the wheel of a ship to reach the Canary Islands, located off the coast of northwest Africa.

Maritime Rescue has dealt with six similar cases in the last two years, according to its coordinator Sofía Hernández.

Migrants can seek refuge inside the box-shaped structure that surrounds the rudder, Hernández explained, but they remain vulnerable to rough weather and rough seas.

"It's very dangerous," she stressed.

A boat with 30 migrants capsizes in the Mexican Pacific.

There are deceased and missing

Nov 22, 202201:56

The fluctuation of a ship's draft level (the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull) poses another danger because it varies depending on the weight of the cargo on board.

“We are talking about several meters [feet] difference.

This part could have been perfectly submerged in the water,” she said.

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In cases like this, the shipowner is responsible for returning the migrants to their point of departure, according to the Spanish government.

Thousands of migrants and refugees from North and West Africa have arrived in the Canary Islands irregularly in recent years.

Most make the perilous crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in overcrowded boats after leaving the shores of Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania and even Senegal.

More than 11,600 people have arrived on the Spanish islands by boat so far this year, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior.