A Spanish military helicopter rescued three migrant ship survivors cast adrift for 22 days.

Fifty-nine people aboard a ship off the coast of Mauritania were caught in strong winds and bad weather which eventually sank, passengers, one of whom is Aicha, a 17-year-old Ivorian made it onto an emergency canoe, and sailed at sea for 22 days.

By the time the Spanish helicopter came to the rescue, only three people had survived. “Two days later we had no water left, no food. On the fourth day, no more petrol,” said Aicha.

“Their physical state was very bad…They were dehydrated,” said Cristina Justo of the Spanish Air Force. Aicha was in the hospital for 10 days following the rescue.

Aicha left her hometown in November and travelled to Mauritania, where she got the boat. Only her older sister knew of her plans to make the perilous journey.

She has now been reunited with a Spanish Air Force crew member.