The Spanish coastguard rescued two Nigerian men who survived for at least a week balancing on the rudder of a ship as it sailed from the west African country of Togo to the Canary Islands.
The two men were rescued on Monday night in the port of Las Palmas, and taken to a hospital for medical checks. They were later released and were transferred back to the ship, which will return them to their port of origin, the port police tweeted.
In a video and photographs published on Twitter by Las Palmas maritime police, the two stowaways are shown hunkered on the rudder under the hull, just above the waterline of the MSC Marta.
The men were 19 and 22 years old, a spokesperson for the Guardia Civil police said.
The container ship’s last stop before reaching the Spanish archipelago off the African coast was Lomé, Togo’s capital, said the coastguard spokesperson.
The ship left Lagos, in Nigeria, on 2 July and stopped on 4 July in Togo, according to local newspaper La Provincia, meaning the migrants were onboard for at least seven days.
In a similar case in November last year, the Spanish coastguard rescued three African stowaways who had arrived in the Canary Islands after enduring 11 days on the rudder of a fuel tanker from Nigeria.
Under Spanish law, any stowaway who does not seek asylum must be returned by the operator of the ship to the port where the journey originated.
The Spanish-owned Canary Islands are a popular but dangerous gateway for African migrants attempting to reach Europe.
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