37 men who were in a wooden boat, measuring 7 meters, 47 nautical miles between Vila Real de Santo António and Tavira, were rescued this morning by the Portuguese Navy.
The alert reached the Lisbon Search and Rescue Coordination Center at the end of yesterday, «through a merchant ship that was sailing in the area. Immediately, the Navy deployed to the site the corvette António Eanes and the fast inspection boats Pegasus and Sagittarius», explains the force, in a statement.
Rocha Pacheco, commander of the Southern Maritime Zone, told the Sul Informação that, "except for one of the men, who complained of pain in his foot, they all seem to be fine".
Even so, he explained, «we are on a search and rescue mission, since, unlike other situations that have happened on the Algarve coast, these people, when they saw the Navy ships, asked for help. In that sense, assistance was provided».
According to Rocha Pacheco, “at this point, a survey of the situation is still being carried out, namely in terms of identifying these people. They claim to be foreigners, but it is still premature to give further details». However, it is known that the men will be "allegedly from North Africa".
This investigation into the origin of these 37 men will be "police work that will be carried out, in collaboration, by the Maritime Police and the Foreigners and Borders Service."
The Navy ship is on its way to the Naval Support Point of Portimão, where it should arrive this afternoon. There, the group of 37 men will test Covid-19, and will also be guaranteed humanitarian assistance, "in particular, basic food and medical assistance needs," explained the SEF.
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