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article_detail
Date Published: 21/05/2020
ARCHIVED - Two Covid positives amongst 26 illegal immigrants detained in three boats off the Cartagena coastline
One man managed to escape from police custody and ran off into the streets of Cartagena
The Mayoress of Cartagena, Ana Belén Castejón, has called for better controls to avoid a repetition of the incident yesterday in which 26 illegal immigrants attempted to land on the Cartagena coastline in three small boats.
26 men and one woman arrived in three separate boats; the first containing eight men and a woman was located off the coast of La Azohía, a second containing nine men off Cabo Tiñoso, and a third 35 nautical miles out at sea to the south-east of Cabo de Palos.
It took three hours for the coastguard to locate this third vessel after an extensive air and sea search.
The Salvamar Mimosa rescue vessel was sent out to intercept the boat and bring its occupants in to the shore.
All of those intercepted were tested for Covid-19 and two of those who had been in Cabo Tiñosos gave positive results using the rapid antibody test kits. They will now be given a further PCR test to ascertain if they are still contagious.(Update: it was confirmed later on Thursday morning by PCR test that the two men are not contagious.)
The eight police and rescue officers who had contact with them during the rescue must now enter a 14- day quarantine period.
After being given medical attention the immigrants were taken to the comisaría of the Policía Nacional in calle Menéndez y Pelayo in Cartagena as a temporary measure while transport and accommodation was organised, and during this period one of the men managed to escape, climbing over the exterior wall of the building.
He was located in calle Real and returned to the Comisaría. It has since been confirmed that he was not one of those who tested positive for Covid-19, but the incident has shaken up local residents of Cartagena who fear that further boatloads of illegal immigrants could bring a new outbreak of cases to the municipality.
At this time of year there is always an increase in the numbers of small boats attempting to enter Spain via its coastal areas. Murcia is generally a less popular choice with the migrants, most of whom choose the shorter sea crossing across the Straits of Gibraltar and reach the coastline of Andalucía. However, with increased vigilance it has become more common to find groups of small boats launched from larger vessels which bring them closer to the Murcian and Valencian coastlines before launching out at sea.
Yesterday the rescue services were advised by those reaching the Murcian coastline that a third vessel was still out at sea, hence the search operation, as the authorities are keen to prevent any vessels reaching our coastline and its occupants being able to disembark and disappear into the countryside without being detected and apprehended.
This is the first time that any boats have been detected since the beginning of lockdown, but with the weather improving, it is likely that further boats will now follow.
The Mayoress of Cartagena said, “It is necessary to establish greater control measures out at sea to prevent the arrival these boats reaching the coast and to improve the sanitary measures for professionals in order to guarantee their safety. We cannot allow incidents such as this to be repeated.”
Update: 1.30 pm on Thursday. By lunchtime on Thursday the total number of immigrants intercepted off the coastlines of Cartagena and Águilas had risen to 62 in five boats, with two women and one minor amongst them according to information received from the Government Delegate to the Region of Murcia.
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