Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 15th of June 2018
Case name: 2018_06_15-WM263
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to 14 distress cases between Morocco and Spain.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Friday the 15th of June, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted to 14 boats in distress in the strait of Gibraltar, of which 11 were rescued by the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo (SM), and three by the Moroccan navy.


At 7.05am we were alerted to 11 travellers, amongst them two women, who had left from just south of Tangier at around midnight local time. At 7.30am we received the position of the travellers, and at 7.55am we called SM and passed on the information that we had. At 9.51am the contact person confirmed that the travellers had been rescued by SM.

At 7.11am our shift team was alerted by a contact person to a group of seven men and one woman on their way from Tangier to Tarifa. The contact person had lost the contact to the travellers, and we were also not able to establish contact immediately. At 7.43am we finally reached the travellers, and half an hour later we received their position via WhatsApp. At 10.24am we alerted SM to the distress case, and at 12.30pm we reached to contact person again, who confirmed that the travellers had been rescued to Spain.

At 8.13am our shift team received a direct call from 34 people in distress, amongst them 11 women of whom one was pregnant. They had left from south of Tangier, and were travelling on a boat with a motor. We were not able to reach the boat again before at 11.45, where the travellers informed us that they were on bord of a rescue vessel of SM and on the way to Spain.

At 8.28am our shift team was alerted by a contact person to 12 people, who had left just south of Tangier, forwarding us their phone number and position. The travellers were in urgent distress, as water was entering their rubber boat. We were not able to reach the travellers, but passed on the information we had to SM at 8.56am. Through the contact person we received updated positions from the travellers, which we passed on to SM. At 12.15pm the contact person confirmed that the travellers had been rescued by SM.

At 8.40am a contact person alerted us to 15 people rowing towards Spain, forwarding us their phone number and position. At 9.38am the contact person told us that the travellers could see the vessel of the SM, so we immediately called them and passed on the information we had. At 11.30am we got a confirmation that SM had rescued the travellers.

At 12.10pm our shift team was alerted to a group of 11 people, amongst them two women, by a contact person forwarding us their phone number and a position from some hours earlier. Neither we, nor the contact person were able to reach the travellers. At 1.10pm we called SM and alerted them to the distress. Due to the high number of crossings on this day it was difficult to get a clear confirmation of whether this boat had been rescued without reaching the travellers directly. Only the next day at 3pm, the contact person reached the travellers and could confirm that they had been rescued and brought to Spain.


In the afternoon our shift team was alerted to four travellers who had left from just south of Tangier at midday. When we spoke to the contact person again at 3.16pm, he informed us that the travellers had already been rescued by SM.

At 5.52pm the Alarm Phone was alerted to 13 travellers, amongst them two women, who had left from a beach just south of Tangier at around 1.30pm. At 6.08pm we reached the travellers, who were tired and distressed. The call was interrupted before we had time to figure out more about their situation. After several attempts, we reached the travellers again at 6.17pm, but communication was difficult because of the stressful situation and noise in the background. In a separate call half an hour later, the travellers informed us that they could see a rescue vessel close by. On vesselfinder we could see that there were three Spanish rescue vessels in the area. At 6.58pm we called SM and passed on the information we had. Because of the many cases that SM were dealing with this evening and night, they were not able to give us information about the ongoing search and rescue operation. After a call to the travellers at 7.13pm which was interrupted, it was no longer possible to reach them. Only the following day at 3.48pm did we learn from the contact person that the travellers had been intercepted by the Moroccan navy.

At 7.07pm our shift team was alerted to a boat with 12 travellers, amongst them two women, who had left from a beach south of Tangier at 1pm. We immediately informed SM about the case. We were not able to establish direct contact to the travellers, but at 8.00pm the contact person informed us that they had been intercepted by the Moroccan navy.

At 7.14pm our shift team was alerted to a group of 14 people in urgent distress by a contact person, forwarding us their phone number and position. We immediately called SM and passed on the information. Via the contact person we received updated positions from the travellers, which we passed on to SM. As the travellers found an empty rubber boat, they decided to split up, and that way avoid continue with more weight than their boat had capacity to carry. At 10.31pm we called the Moroccan rescue authorities, whom SM had said were in charge of the rescue operation. They informed us about the rescue of several boats, but were not able to confirm that they had rescued this specific boat. At 11.05pm, however, we got an update from the contact person who was still in contact with the travellers, and could confirm that they were still at sea. At 11.55pm the contact person informed us that the travellers had been rescued and were on their way to Spain.

At 7.18pm we were alerted to eight travellers in distress by a contact person, forwarding us their phone number and position. We immediately passed on the information to SM, and could pass on updated positions of the boat, which we received from the contact person. At 11.55pm we got the information from the contact person that the travellers had been rescued by SM.

At 8.41pm our shift team received a position in the Strait of Gibraltar from the morning, without any further information. The following morning at 7.45am, we receive the phone number of the boat, which we were, however, not able to reach. Only in the evening at 8.41pm did the travellers message us back, informing us that they had been rescued by SM.

At 10.40pm our shift team was alerted to eight men and one woman in distress. At 10.55pm we called SM and passed on the information, and at 11.49pm we were informed by a contact person that they had been intercepted and were back in Morocco.

At 0.18am a contact person alerted our shift team to a group of 11 men and one woman who had left from a beach south of Tangier at around 2pm. The call was interrupted, before we could get more information. At 0.40am we reached the contact person again, and they told us that they lost contact to the travellers two hours earlier. The contact person forwarded us the number of the travellers. We were not able to reach the travellers, but called SM at 1.15am to pass on the information. At 2.12am we called the Moroccan rescue authorities who were coordinating the search and rescue, but they were not able to give us any information about the case. The following morning we called both SM and the Moroccan rescue authorities again. The latter told us that they had rescued several boats that would fit the description, but could not confirm that this specific boat was amongst them. At 4.10pm the contact person told us that he had talked to the travellers, who had been intercepted to Morocco.