Mallorca coma survivor, 16, fights adult ruling
Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands, is where Barp spends most of two months in a coma after a boat crossing. Now 16, he is trying to overturn a ruling that says he is an adult. Rescuers found him unconscious on 4 May 2025 after 15 days adrift. His birth certificates and passport say he is a child, but he now lives in a centre for vulnerable adults in Seville, Spain.
From the boat to hospital
Barp, a name used to protect his identity, left Guinea and travelled through Algeria before boarding a boat for the Balearics. He says it ran out of fuel, water and food. He remembers two people dying, but the brain damage he suffered has left serious gaps in his memory.
He was taken to Son Espases Hospital on Mallorca after the rescue. He spent about two months there, most of that time in a coma, then another two months recovering at Sant Joan de Déu. For the past six months, doctors and social workers from the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid have helped him piece together what happened.
A passport that says he is 16
After leaving hospital, Barp went to a centre for children on Ibiza, another Balearic island. Doctors had estimated that he was 14. With no documents to show his age, he had an X-ray of his wrist. On 23 September, prosecutors declared him an adult, and he left the centre after just a few days.
His poor health meant he was sent to a specialist centre for vulnerable adults in Seville. His family has since obtained two birth certificates, and the Guinean consulate has issued him a passport. All say he is 16. Lawyers for the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid hope those documents and a recent dental examination will persuade the authorities to reverse the ruling.
For now, the conflicting records have stopped him even submitting documents in an extraordinary process to regularise his stay. His application for international protection is also awaiting a decision. Barp says he wants to study Spanish, work and remain in Seville; whether the authorities will recognise him as a child remains unresolved.
Topics: Court cases · Police · Sea rescue · Migration · Social affairs · Health · Palma
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com