A Royal Navy combat unit on a maritime patrol mission assisted Monday a pirogue in distress, 37 km southwest of the town of Lagouira, due to very unfavorable weather conditions, with 56 sub-Saharan candidates for irregular migration on board.

The would-be migrants, including a woman and a minor, were all rescued and taken aboard the Royal Navy’s fighting unit, according to a press release from the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces. The rescued people, who were on board the pirogue and intended to reach the Canary Islands, set sail on Thursday, February 22.

They received the necessary care before being taken to the port of Dakhla and handed over to the Royal Gendarmerie for the usual administrative procedures, the same source added.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse