Immigrants rescued off Alicante

11 immigrants in a dinghy were picked up earlier this morning off the Costa Blanca by the Red Cross and Spanish Coastguard.

According to sources, the 11 men were rescued 25 miles off the coast of Santa Pola, Alicante. They were travelling in a dinghy which had earlier been seen drifting in the Mediterranean sea.

A fishing boat working in the area caught sight of the craft at around 11pm Tuesday evening, and raised the alarm with the local coastguard. Eight Red Cross volunteers attended the scene and managed to bring the men ashore.

All 11 male migrants are believed to be aged between 25 – 35, except for one minor, the majority are of Algerian origin. They remain detained in Alicante, where they will be returned to their homeland.

Andrés Chessa, in charge of the rescue operation, said: “They are all in good health, and there was no need to move them to hospital. First aid was carried out at the scene for minor injuries.”

All the men were provided with warm clothes, food and drink to raise their sugar levels.

This is the first incident of illegal immigrants attempting to enter Spain in this area since December 8 2013, when 8 men were picked up 20 miles from Cabo Roig, near Torrevieja.  

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