A two-year-old boy was thrown into the sea from a migrant boat while crying alongside his mother, an emergency services official has claimed. Enrique Espinosa, who is in charge of Lanzarote‘s Emergency Services Consortium in Spain, spoke of the incident after being asked during a radio interview about a recent alleged multiple sexual assault on a migrant boat.

Asked whether he had ever witnessed anything as terrible as the alleged sexual assault, Mr Espinosa told Cronicas Radio programme A Buena Hora: “There are even more terrible things than that. On a boat, they threw a two-year-old child who was crying with his mother into the water. They are terrible things.”

He added: “There are first and second-class passengers. Those in second class go below and those in first class sit on top of them.

“When they start telling you things, you see that it borders on a lack of humanity. An end must be put to all this trafficking by mafias.”

Mr Espinosa, who has held his current role for nearly 15 years and works out of a fire station in Lanzarote’s capital Arrecife, did not say when the alleged incident involving the toddler took place.

He also gave no further details about the circumstances surrounding the incident or whether any arrests had been made.

More than 450 migrants have been rescued off Lanzarote in recent days. This includes 262 people aboard four vessels intercepted by Spanish coastguards near the holiday island between Wednesday afternoon and the early hours of Thursday morning.

The alleged sexual assault that prompted the radio interview reportedly took place during a migrant boat crossing on September 16, when 65 survivors were rescued by Spanish coastguards and three bodies were recovered from the water.

Three men, aged 21, 25 and 30, were arrested after a woman reported being sexually assaulted during the crossing.

A spokesman for the National Police said on Wednesday: “National Police officers in Arrecife have arrested three men aged 21, 25 and 30 as alleged perpetrators of a multiple sexual assault committed against a woman during the crossing of a small boat bound for Lanzarote.

“The incident took place on September 16 at sea, in what are believed to be international waters.

“After the vessel arrived at the port of Arrecife, the victim informed rescue services that she had been sexually assaulted by several men during the crossing.

“Given her serious state of health, the necessary resources were activated to provide her with initial assistance and she subsequently received specialized care as a victim at police premises.”

Survivors told authorities that another 10 people had gone overboard during the journey, while non-governmental organisations subsequently suggested the number missing could be around 14.

The three suspects were remanded in custody following their appearance in court. An investigation remains ongoing.