Man Rescued After Attempting to Cross from Morocco to Spain on Rubber Ring
A man trying to reach Spain from Morocco using only a rubber ring and flippers was rescued after being spotted by a family sailing near the Balearic Islands.
The incident occurred on July 16 when the family, aboard their yacht 13 nautical miles south of Benalmádena in Andalucía, noticed movement in the water near an oil tanker. At first, they mistook it for a bird until they checked with binoculars and realized it was a person.
Footage of the rescue, later shared by the Spanish Royal Assembly of Yacht Captains (RAECY), shows the exhausted man swimming toward the yacht as a rope was thrown to him. Once aboard, he was given water, fresh clothes, and soup.
A voice in the recording highlights the improbability of his situation, noting how far passing ships were from him. According to RAECY sources, the man wore a wetsuit but had no provisions beyond the ring and flippers.
After heading toward Estepona, the family was met by a maritime rescue vessel, which transported the man to Málaga, where authorities took over.
Such risky crossings are not unusual. "Many migrants attempt to reach Spain with whatever basic equipment they can find," noted a reporter from the Spanish newspaper *El País*. While similar efforts are more frequent near Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, crossings across the wider Alborán Sea are less common.
Authorities confirmed these incidents occur periodically. "Depending on the season, this can happen regularly," said a source from Spain’s border patrol.
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