Woman is gang-raped on migrant boat during deadly Atlantic crossing to Spanish holiday island

Police have arrested three men accused of gang-raping a woman on a migrant boat during an Atlantic crossing in which more than a dozen people are believed to have died.The three suspects, all in their twenties or thirties, were held following an investigation launched after the alleged victim reported her ordeal when the vessel reached Lanzarote on the back of a Spanish coastguard rescue.A witness facilitated their detentions after confirming he had seen the sex attack take place and agreed to give a statement.The sex crimes are said to have taken place on September 16 on an inflatable boat at the centre of a dramatic rescue the same day when 65 survivors were aided and three bodies recovered from the water.The people on board, said to have left Tan-Tan in southwestern Morocco, told the authorities after they reached the Lanzarote capital Arrecife that another ten people had gone overboard during the crossing and they had run out of water during the latter part of their five days at sea.Non-governmental organisations who assisted the migrants after their arrival on European soil have subsequently said the number missing could be around 14, bringing the possible death toll to 17.Some of the victims are said to have ended up in the sea during the rescue because the migrant boat's occupants began to panic as the Spanish coastguard vessels, called Salvamar Al Nair and Salvamar Acrux, tried to aid them.A spokesman for the National Police said today: 'National Police officers in Arrecife have arrested three men aged 21, 25 and 30 as alleged perpetrators of a multiple sexual assault committed against a woman during the crossing of a small boat bound for Lanzarote.The three suspects, all in their twenties, were held following an investigation launched after the alleged victim reported her ordeal when the vessel reached Lanzarote (File image)'The incident took place on September 16 at sea, in what are believed to be international waters.'After the vessel arrived at the port of Arrecife, the victim informed rescue services that she had been sexually assaulted by several men during the crossing.'Given her serious state of health, the necessary resources were activated to provide her with initial assistance and she subsequently received specialized care as a victim at police premises.'Confirming the investigation had been led by officers from the National Police's Family and Women's Assistance Unit, a police spokesman said: 'A witness from the same vessel was located who stated that he had witnessed the incident. 'The three detainees have been remanded to prison following their appearance in court.'Their nationalities have not yet been revealed. An investigating judge is leading an ongoing criminal probe to decide whether to recommend formal charges at a later stage.Spanish coastguards said initially after the September 16 rescue: 'The Las Palmas Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre coordinated the rescue of 82 sub-Saharan people aboard an inflatable boat located about 77 nautical miles from Arrecife.'The Salvamar Al Nair rescued 63 people and recovered three bodies. One of the people rescued, in critical condition, was evacuated by the Helimer 211 helicopter.'Subsequently, the Salvamar Acrux rescued another 19 people.'After disembarkation at Puerto Naos in Arrecife, the final number of people rescued will be confirmed.'They added in a follow-up statement: 'After the disembarkation, the following final tally is confirmed: Salvamar Al Nair: 49 people (41 men, 4 women and 3 deceased)'Salvamar Acrux: 19 sub-Saharan people (15 men and 4 women).''Total people assisted: 68 sub-Saharan people'.In September last year it emerged police were investigating an alleged double rape on board a migrant boat whose occupants reached Ibiza.Two youngsters described as minors told police they were sexually assaulted by two men during a crossing from Africa.They were taken to Can Misses Hospital for medical checks before being formally questioned by police after reporting what had happened when they reached the holiday island.Just before news of that investigation was made public, police in Gran Canaria said they believed 'at least' 50 migrants were tortured and thrown overboard after being accused of witchcraft on a boat crossing to Europe.The first allegations of mass high seas executions on board the overcrowded vessel emerged at the start of September last year after 248 survivors were rescued off the African coast and taken to Gran Canaria.Detectives began investigating after witnesses brought ashore claimed to have seen fellow migrants beaten up and shot after people smugglers in charge of the boat accused them of being witches when they suffered engine problems and started running out of food.Subsequent reports said 17 men – 16 Senegalese nationals and one Gambian – had been arrested and remanded in custody by a Spanish judge probing the allegations.Police said on September 17 last year 19 suspects had been detained as they released the first images of the arrests and detailed for the first time in an official statement the results of their inquiries into the nightmare Atlantic crossing so far.The migrants were brought ashore at Arguineguin on Gran Canaria's southern coast on August 25, a day after the overcrowded vessel known as a cayuco was rescued off the African city of Dakhla 265 miles from the Canaries by Spanish coastguards.Moroccan officials had said they were unable to help.All 19 men were remanded to prison after appearing before a judge and told they would continue to be investigated on suspicion of people trafficking, homicide, wounding and torture.