Three males, one of whom was a minor, left the North African coast to reach the Costa Tropical on a jet ski, but it began to sink still out of sight of land.

At a distance of 20 nautical miles they abandoned the jet-ski as it began to slip under the waves and began to tread water.

There they remained, drifting for several hours until their luck changed when a passing merchant ship spotted them.

The ship passed on their GPS coordinates to Salvamento Marítimo who sent a fast launch to rescue them.

Once fished out of the water they were taken to Motril Port in a good state of health to be attended by Cruz Roja and then handed over to Guardia Civil.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)