About 35 African migrants, including at least one rescued at sea from an overcrowded wooden boat, are among the top prize winners of Spain’s Christmas lottery, according to the owner of the lottery agency that sold more than 1,000 tickets that shelled out $4,38,000 each.
The winners who bought the tickets in the southern coastal city of Roquetas de Mar included migrants from Senegal, Mali and Morocco, agency owner Jose Martin told La Voz de Almeria newspaper in a story published on Thursday.
Among them was a Senegalese man named Ngame who told Spanish media that he and his wife were rescued by Spain’s coast guard in 2007 when their boat with about 65 people aboard was traveling from Africa’s western coast toward Spain’s Canary Islands.
Outside the lottery agency, Mr Ngame was in tears as he clutched a photocopy of his winning ticket with the number 79,140. He thanked Spain for saving his life and giving him the chance to play the country’s world famous lottery.
“Today I thank the Spanish government, the Spaniards too,” Mr Ngame told Ondacero radio. “They saved us when we were in the middle of the sea.”
