Beachgoers Thwart Dramatic Migrant Boat Landing on Spanish Coast

An attempt at illegal immigration thwarted on the Sotillo beach in Castell de Ferro, Granada, on Sunday. Images viewed by Mirror show a boat carrying about 13 young men - probably of Moroccan origin - arriving on this Spanish beach around 2 pm. Vacationers enjoying the nice weather see the passengers jump into the water, swim to the beach. "We thought it was a pleasure boat, but when we saw people jumping into the water and starting to get out, we realized it was not normal," says Alberto Garcia, a local restaurateur, to Ideal.

He adds: "What surprised us the most is that the boat was moving very slowly, as if they were neither in a hurry nor afraid. They entered where there were the most people, as if nothing had happened, and stopped five meters from the shore. Then they jumped one by one, and the four who remained on board, some of them hooded, calmly turned around and left." Once on the beach, these illegal migrants tried to flee as quickly as possible or blend into the crowd. But they were slowed down by vacationers. They held them until the arrival of the Spanish Civil Guard. A video shows an individual grabbing the ankles of a fleeing migrant.

We also see a man dressed only in his swimsuit tackle one of the men to the ground. "The lifeguards alerted us and we managed to catch one in the street. We then helped identify two others," said the local police of Castell de Ferro. And to specify: "The Civil Guard did the bulk of the work and managed to arrest nine people."