The three survivors, including 17-year-old Aicha, were rescued from the boat by aid workers from the Spanish Air Force at the end of April. By then they had already been on the high seas for 22 days. Help came too late for dozens of other crewmembers.
“The worst migrant boat disaster in the history of the Canary Islands”, the BBC calls the incident which took place about 500 kilometers south of the island of Ferro.
The migrants tried to reach Europe by boat from Mauritania, but the people on board were without drinking water and food after only two days. Another two days later, to make matters worse, the fuel had also run out. The boat has been bobbing adrift across the sea ever since. It was the Spanish Air Force that raised the alarm during a patrol when it sighted the boat.
Mass grave
“As soon as we got closer, we realized that it was completely wrong,” says one of the first responders to the scene. “At that moment everything goes through your head. It was a mass grave on the open sea.”
When the dehydrated and severely weakened Aicha saw the rescuers, she burst into tears, she told the BBC:
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The incident made a deep impression on the emergency services. “There is no way you can be prepared for incidents like this,” says one of them.
Aicha is doing well under the circumstances. She was in hospital for ten days and recovered physically. Aicha is currently staying with a foster family.
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