Three migrants from Nigeria to the Canary Islands: 'For 11 days clinging to the helm of an oil tanker'

Three migrants rescued in the Canaries after 11 days on the rudder of an oil tanker

The three men were sent back aboard the ship to its port of origin in Nigeria on Tuesday. The number of migrant arrivals to the Spanish islands has risen sharply in recent years, while the trajectory is considered dangerous

Three migrants from Nigeria to the Canary Islands: 'For 11 days clinging to the helm of an oil tanker'

The ship, flying the Maltese flag, left Lagos on 17 November and arrived in Las Palmas on Monday. The men showed symptoms of dehydration and hypothermia and were transferred to hospitals on the island

The story behind the photo: migrants spend 11 days at the helm of an oil tanker to reach Spain

Salvamento Marítimo rescued three stowaways on the wheel of an oil tanker that had just arrived in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria after leaving eleven days ago from Lagos (Nigeria).

Three stowaways survive an 11-day trip across the ocean at the helm of an oil tanker

A photo from the Spanish Coast Guard shows how three stowaways were found during a rescue operation in the Canary Islands. The migrants sat at the helm of an oil tanker near the waterline. The ship had left Nigeria eleven days earlier. The men would have been at the helm the whole time.

Stowaways survived 11 days on rudder of oil tanker at sea

Spain's Maritime Rescue Service says the men were found on a vessel which had departed from Nigeria bound for the Canary Islands.

Three stowaways rescued in Las Palmas after traveling 11 days at the helm of an oil tanker

The men, of sub-Saharan origin, left Nigeria and have been hospitalized with moderate dehydration.