Migrants survive 11-day journey stowed away on rudder of oil tanker

Three migrants sitting on the rudder of an oil tanker survived an 11-day journey across the Atlantic ocean, Spain’s maritime rescue service said.

The men were discovered on the Alithini II vessel when it arrived in the Canary Islands on Monday.

A picture from the Salvamento Marítimo shows the men, who had travelled from Lagos, Nigeria, huddled under the ship's stern with their feet dangerously close to the water.

After being rescued, the trio were hospitalised with "moderate dehydration", the EFE news agency reported.

Though extremely dangerous, it is not the first time stowaways have been found traveling on the rudder of commercial ships to the Canary Islands.

Last year, a 14-year-old Nigerian boy was interviewed by Spain’s El País newspaper after surviving two weeks on a rudder. He had also departed from Lagos.

The route from western Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands is notoriously perilous. However, in recent times it has increasingly attracted migrants wanting to reach European soil, as authorities on Mediterranean routes have cracked down on migrant boats.

Since the beginning of last year, at least 1,532 migrants have died trying to reach the Canary islands from West Africa, according to the UN's migration agency.

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