Spain: Three illegal immigrants seek asylum after hiding in back of oil tanker

Three Nigerians who arrived in Spain’s Canary Islands on Monday after 11 days hiding behind the helm of an oil tanker in high seas have finally been able to apply for asylum, Spanish authorities announced Wednesday.

So this tanker can leave without them, according to the province of the Canaries, located off the coast of Africa, islands.

However, Spanish authorities indicated on Tuesday that the three illegal immigrants had been handed over to the tanker’s owner, who, according to them, has a legal responsibility to bring them back to the port of origin of the condemned boat. by many NGOs.

The Malta-flagged ship “Alithini II” departed Lagos, Nigeria on November 17 and arrived at the port of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands on Monday.

An impressive photograph taken by several media outlets, released by Spain’s sea rescue services, shows the arrival of the three men on the large rudder, their feet just above the water, under the stern of the 183-meter-long, 32-meter-high vessel. meters wide.

Upon arrival in the Canary Islands, the three men were “tired and showing signs of hypothermia” for which they were “taken care of by the medical services”, the marine rescue services told AFP on Monday. , had highlighted the emergency services.