Rescued at sea off the Costa del Sol while crossing the Strait of Gibraltar with an inflatable ring and flippers

A young man was rescued at sea, while apparently crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, after the passengers on a sailboat spotted him while they were on their way to the Balearic Islands. The incident happened on 16 July after the person in the water was spotted about 20 kilometres off the coast of Malaga, south of Benalmádena.

It just so happens that 16 July is the day of La Virgen del Carmen - the patron saint of the sea. Celebrations on this date increase boat traffic, which turned out to be a lucky turn of events for the young man.

At first, the sailboat's pasengers thought that what they saw on the surface of the water was a fish or a bird, but the view from the binoculars revealed that it was a person.

The people on board the sailboat pulled him on board. He was wearing a wetsuit and had an inflatable ring and flippers with him. They alerted Spain's maritime rescue service

The rescued man was given dry clothes, water, blankets and a warm drink, but he spent the whole time on the boat covered with the blanket. "He hardly spoke," said witnesses.

The man was finally transferred to Malaga port where he was reported to be in a stable condition.