Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 21st of December 2018
Case name: 2018_12_21-WM357
Situation: WM 1 boat from Algeria most probably arrived in Spain // 1 boat from Tangier rescued by the Marine Royale
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On December 21st, 2018, the Alarm Phone shift team was informed of two boats in distress in the Western Mediterranean Sea. The first had left from Algeria and was probably rescued to Spain. The other one had departed from Tangier and was rescued by the Marine Royale and brought back to Morocco.

In the first case, the shift team was alerted at 1.07am CET about a black rubber boat that had left from close to Oran, Algeria several hours prior. The travelers included 12 people, including a 9-year-old child. The shift team had trouble contacting the boat, and so they called the Spanish search and rescue organization Salvamiento Maritimo to convey the information that they had available; Salvamiento Maritimo also contacted the Algerian Coastguard. The shift team continued to be unable to contact the boat, but received word that boats were arriving by themselves onto European coasts, and a person familiar with the situation suggested that the boat had arrived in Spain without having been rescued.

In the second case, the Alarm Phone was alerted to a boat at 1.35am CET of 7 men who had left several hours prior from Tangier, Morocco. The boat was a rowing rubber boat and one man was reported sick. The shift team contacted the boat to receive necessary information, and remained in touch with the boat for several hours. The shift team also alerted Salvamiento Maritimo, who was already informed about the case. At 3.58am the boat called again in further panic about the state of the boat and fear that they will drown. The shift team continued contacting Salvamiento Maritimo and the Moroccan Marine Royale and also tweeted publicly about the case. At 7.55am, the Moroccan authorities confirmed they had rescued the boat and brought the travelers back to Morocco.