On their flight to Europe, three stowaway migrants hid next to the rudder of an oil tanker for eleven days. According to the Spanish Coast Guard, they were spotted upon arrival in the Canary Islands. The three migrants were "located in the rudder of the ship 'Alithini II'" when it anchored near the port of Las Palmas, the Spanish coast guard told the AFP news agency on Monday. The authorities initially gave no information about the origin of the rescued.

"They were tired and showing signs of hypothermia and upon arrival at the port they were treated by health services," the statement said. The rescued were "moderately dehydrated" and required hospital treatment, wrote the emergency number 112 on the online service Twitter.

According to tracking website shipfinder.com, the Maltese-flagged "Alithini II" took off from Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, on November 17. On Monday, the oil tanker arrived at the port of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, off the northwest coast of Africa.