The 23-year-old told his rescuers that he had gone diving with some friends near Ceuta, the autonomous Spanish city bordering Morocco on the North African coast, but the strong currents had swept him away
A 23-year-old Moroccan diver was rescued 24 miles off the coast of Caleta de Vélez in Malaga province on the eastern Costa del Sol on Friday, 22 August, after two days adrift in the Moroccan diver rescued by merchant ship off Costa del Sol after two days adrift in the Mediterranean Sea. He was spotted by a merchant cargo ship, the crew of which alerted Spain's Salvamento Marítimo maritime rescue service. The man was still recovering in a hospital in Motril on Saturday, waiting to be discharged and returned to Morocco.
The young man told the National Police that he had gone diving with some friends near Ceuta - the autonomous Spanish city bordering Morocco on the North African coast - on Wednesday afternoon, but the strong currents had swept him away.
Although he surfaced, the diver lost sight of his friends and the intensity of the tide left him adrift. According to the initial reports, he had been adrift for about six days, but he said that it had only been two.
Signs of hypothermia
The crew of a merchant ship sailing towards Portugal saw him on Friday morning. The young man was found floating in the sea and, although he was dressed in neoprene, he was showing signs of hypothermia.
He was transferred to the Motril emergency heliport - the closest point for his rapid evacuation, given its proximity to the Santa Ana hospital.
The Local Police, National Police, the emergency health service and the fire brigade were mobilised. The diver showed signs of dehydration and was semi-conscious. He barely speaks Spanish. He was immediately attended to by the medical services and taken to hospital.
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