Salvamento Marítimo conducted a rescue operation on Saturday night, saving fourteen individuals, among them one minor, from a boat forty miles off the Alicante coast. The Red Cross confirmed that the individuals, aged between seventeen and sixty-two, are of Maghreb origin and have been provided with immediate care at the Alicante port. Most of those rescued are in good health, although two have been transferred to medical facilities for further assistance.

The Red Cross has mobilised its Immediate Response Team to support those affected. Volunteers reported that some survivors mentioned leaving Oran, Algeria, four days prior to their rescue. This incident follows a separate rescue on Thursday, where seventeen individuals were found, one unfortunately deceased, approximately forty-two miles off the coast of Xàbia.

Among the Thursday’s rescue, all individuals were male and primarily of sub-Saharan African descent, many aged between fifteen and twenty-seven, with a significant number being seventeen, eighteen, or nineteen. Red Cross reports highlighted the severe health conditions faced by many, with indications of dehydration, wounds, and infection symptoms.

Humanitarian organisations revealed grave accounts from the rescued, who described extreme conditions during their journey, with some stating that they had been adrift for up to fifteen days. Reports from the rescue disclosed that one individual had resorted to using toothpaste for sustenance due to the lack of supplies.