2021 has begun where 2020 left off for Maritime Rescue, who reported that the first two boats of irregular migrants arrived in the Canary Islands on New Years Day, in Los Cristianos and La Tejita in the south of Tenerife, with a total of 99 people on board.
The first boat was spotted drifting off the south coast of Tenerife by the Guardia Civil yesterday morning and couldn’t steer due to a broken engine. Maritime Rescue intercepted the cayuco with 59 occupants, and towed it to Los Cristianos where they were met by two ambulances, a doctor and a nurse from a local health centre, the Red Cross, Port Authorities and the National Police.
During the afternoon, a second cayuco with a total of 40 irregular migrants on board arrived at La Tejita beach, in the municipality of Granadilla de Abona, according to emergency services.
The boat was located in waters near the south of the island and the Maritime Rescue guided it in to shore where it was met by a health team who carried out the necessary protocols including PCR tests.
After initial health assessments by the health care unit, it was decided to transfer one of the occupants to hospital for precautionary measures.
