A boat which arrived on the Granadilla last week carrying a total of 37 illegal could have set out from Mauritania rather than the more customary point of departure, according to Guardia Civil sources.

The unusually large patera, by two outboard motors and equipped with a primus stove and , allegedly took eight days to make the though the police are sceptical of that claim as all but two of the illegals were said to be in good condition. Only two had to be hospitalised, one of them, an albino, suffering from sunburn. Both displayed symptoms of .
The boat was first spotted approaching the coast by fishermen in Arico waters who raised the . It eventually sailed into a small quay which belongs to the Unelco company near the thermal power station.
The are said to be from Gambia, Mali, Ghana, Liberia and Guinea Bissau.


Source: Tenerife News, January 2006.