One man drowned and another was missing after the crew of a Philippine-registered ship threw three Algerian stowaways into the Mediterranean Sea, newspapers reported here on Wednesday.
A third stowaway was able to swim ashore at Bouharon, some 40 kilometres west of Algiers, after he and his colleagues were thrown overboard one week ago by the crew of the Marina.
The three Algerians, aged between 23 and 30, had sneaked onto the boat while it was docked at Oran, 430 kilometres west of Algiers.
When they were discovered by the crew, they were taken to see the ship’s captain, who ordered them to be thrown overboard, with a basin as a flotation device.
The man who was able to swim ashore said he had jumped into the sea and clung to the basin. His fellow stowaways, who had refused to leave the vessel, were tied up and then thrown overboard by the Marina’s crew, he said.
The body of one of the stowaways was found on August 19, but the third was still missing on Wednesday. – Sapa-AFP