Man crossing to Spain ‘on surf board’ from Morocco picked up by Navy

A 20-YEAR-OLD man who was found attempting to swim to Spain with a surfboard has been picked up by a Navy ship.

The swimmer, who reportedly identified himself as Hamsda Sabar from Morocco, was picked up by the Mar Caribe auxiliary ship at around 8.20pm yesterday.

Naval personnel took the migrant aboard and gave him food and assistance. He was exhausted and showed the symptoms of hypothermia, according to Spain’s Ministry of Defence.

El buque auxiliar #MarCaribe rescata a un migrante marroquí que cruzaba el estrecho de Gibraltar sobre una tabla de surf

Se encontraba exhausto y con síntomas de hipotermia. Una embarcación de @salvamentogob lo traslada al puerto de Algeciras

Buen trabajo a todos???? pic.twitter.com/abMVSnYqhz

— Armada Española (@Armada_esp) 13 May 2018

The navy’s ship was ordered to transfer the swimmer to the Spanish coast guards, who picked him up at around 8.50pm in the Delra de Algeciras sea area.

The Mar Caribe currently undertakes patrol work in Spanish waters. It is also capable of finding mines, torpedoes and buoys and of carrying out rescue work.

It was travelling back to its home port of the Rota Naval base in Cadiz province, after taking part in the Spanish-Minex 18 naval exercises.