Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigation – 1st of May 2015

Case name: 2015_05_01-WM4
Situation: People trying to reach Spain returned to Morocco
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: In the night to Friday, the 1st of May 2015, the shift team of the Alarm Phone received a call from a woman who said that she was in distress but the connection was lost before more information could be obtained. In this brief exchange, our shift team heard people shout ‘marine marine’, babies crying in the background as well as a running engine. In the following hours, contact could not be re-established. In the early morning, the shift team informed the Spanish rescue agency Salvamento Maritimo. They had information about a vessel close to Morocco and advised us to contact the Moroccan authorities. In a phone conversation with the Moroccan coastguards we were told that a rescue operation was currently carried out but no conclusive confirmation could be obtained from the authorities. The shift team reached out to a friend located in Morocco who got into contact with two people from the vessel in question. They had been returned by Moroccan coastguards to the port authorities of Tanger. There the identities of the passengers was checked and they were released about one hour later. Our contact person told us that all of them, including the women and children, were well.