At least 19 migrants dead in two known shipwrecks on the same day in the Balearic Islands

PalmThe waters of the Balearic Islands have been the scene of two new migratory tragedies known this Tuesday. On the one hand, the testimony of two survivors suggests that at least 17 people died after spending 15 days adrift trying to reach the Archipelago. On the other hand, Maritime Rescue and the Civil Guard have recovered the bodies of two more migrants after the shipwreck of a makeshift boat southeast of Cabrera, where they also rescued 19 survivors. In this second case, the search operation remains active because several people could still be missing.

Regarding the shipwreck near Cabrera, the Government Delegation in the Balearic Islands has reported that the first alert was received at 12:05 on Tuesday, when Maritime Rescue detected two castaways about ten miles southeast of the island. A helicopter was dispatched to the area and rescued them immediately.

Subsequently, the Provincial Maritime Service of the Civil Guard deployed a large search operation that, between 12:30 and 2:30 PM, allowed the rescue of 12 more people of sub-Saharan origin and the recovery of the lifeless bodies of 2 migrants. In parallel, the Maritime Rescue helicopter located and rescued 2 more survivors, bringing the total number of people saved to 19.

All survivors were transferred to the port of Colonia de Sant Jordi. Three of them had to be hospitalized for burns and symptoms of exhaustion: two were admitted to Son Espases University Hospital and another to Manacor Hospital.

The Spanish government delegation considers that the vessel would have capsized around seven o'clock on Monday morning with about thirty people on board and that it could be a missing makeshift boat with 29 migrants that Maritime Rescue was already aware of. The first reports spoke of 17 missing, but the update provided at 11:15 PM raised the number of survivors to 19 and reduced the number of hospitalized people to 3. However, rescue teams are keeping the search active because several people could still be missing.

This is the second serious incident known this Tuesday. Hours earlier, the rescue of two survivors in the south of Mallorca had become known, who reported that the makeshift boat they were traveling in had been adrift for fifteen days and that 17 of the occupants had died during the crossing before they could be assisted.

The NGO Caminando Fronteras has recalled that during the month of July at least five rafts with 76 people disappeared while sailing towards the Balearic Islands. It is not yet known if either of the two shipwrecks known this Tuesday corresponds to these vessels reported as missing by their families. In parallel, the Civil Guard is investigating the discovery of a body in an advanced state of decomposition found this Tuesday at sea, near Ciutadella. The body was wearing a life jacket and one of the hypotheses is that it may correspond to a migrant person who died during the crossing.