Rescue operation launched after bloke seen floating in sea on inflatable mattress
The chap was out on the sea simply for ‘pleasure’ according to the rescue team after he was clocked by an oil tanker some 22 miles off Estepona in the Costa del Sol
This is the bizarre moment a merchant ship spotted a man sailing on an inflatable bed mattress in the middle of the Mediterranean.
Rescue teams say they were stunned over what they believe was simply a “pleasure trip” as they have ruled out that the man was a migrant. Ship staff looking out of a porthole saw him sitting astride an inflatable mattress, the type used for temporary bedding.
He was 22 miles off the coast of Estepona, the popular holiday resort on the Spanish mainland. The warning came at 12.43pm when the oil tanker ‘Epic Shikoku’ spotted the person in the water and alerted the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of Tarifa in Cádiz.
The rescue boat, called ‘Salvamar Gadir’, was immediately mobilised which went to the area, rescued the man in good health and transferred him to the port of Estepona, as reported by Maritime Rescue.
The public body has specified that it was not a migrant or a boat but a domestic float, a kind of mattress used at home for guests.
The man would have used an oar or a similar object to move through the sea, although the circumstances that led him to that distance from the coast are unknown.
Through its official account on X, Maritime Rescue (@salvamentogob) said: “It was a toy, inflatable float, a kind of mattress that you have at home for guests…
“The vessel Epic Shikoku sights a person in the water on a float 20 miles SE of Estepona.
“Our CCS Tarifa mobilises the crew of the Salvamar Gadir, who pick him up in good condition and transfer him to Estepona. The sea is not a raft. Respect, care, attention and a lot of #SeguridadNautica.”
Maritime rescue have stressed the importance of maintaining prudence and respect for the maritime environment, avoiding situations that can put life at risk.
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