A cruise ship has rescued 68 people adrift on a fishing boat off the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, cruise line Oceania Cruises said Thursday.
The ship, Insignia, was nearing the end of a 180-day voyage around the world when it received a distress call about the boat.
“We can confirm that Insignia has rescued 68 people from a ship in distress between Cape Verde and Tenerife [brought] them on board for medical attention and provided food, water, clothing and a safe place to rest,” Oceania Cruises said in a statement to CBS News. “We have coordinated the next steps with the authorities in Tenerife, and they will take over the care of the rescued people.”
Henry Tom
Henry Tom, a cruise ship passenger from Vancouver, Canada, told CBS News that it took several hours to rescue the people on the fishing boat and that about five people on the boat were dead.
The Associated Press reported that crews were able to recover three of the five bodies on the small boat, known as a pirogue, but were unable to recover the remaining two due to bad weather. The news agency said an oil tanker first spotted the floating boat south of the island of Tenerife. Authorities diverted the Insignia cruise ship to rescue the migrants.
Henry Tom
The migrants came from Africa, said Henry Tom, the passenger. ‘We think they came from Senegal. We’re not 100% sure,” he said. He said they were placed in the Insignia Lounge, where the ship hosts live performances, and passengers donated shoes and clothing for the migrants, who he said had been at sea for between 20 and 30 days.
Spain recorded 55,618 migrants arriving by sea last year – most of them to the Canary Islands – almost double the number from 2022. More than 23,000 have landed so far this year, according to the Interior Ministry.
Erielle Delzer
