02/10: 53 people started in Dakhla went missing on the route to the Canary islands – fate still unclear

03.10.2020 / 09:22 / Western Mediterranean

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 2nd of October 2020

Case name: 20201002-WM493

Situation: 53 people, among them 23 women and 6 children started from Dakhla and went missing until now

Status of WTM Investigation: still ongoing

Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean

Summary of the Case:

On 2nd of October 2020 in the afternoon the Alarm Phone got informed about a boat with 53 people, among them 23 women and 6 children, heading to the Canary islands. They started the day before in the early morning. After learning about a rescue of 50 to 60 travellers to Gran Canaria we called Salvamento Maritimo (SM) Las Palmas at 16:39h CEST. They informed the Alarm Phone that there have been indeed to rescues: a boat with 49 travellers and a boat with 15 travellers. Concerning the boat with 49 travellers we called SM Las Palmas again at 20:30h. The officer couldn’t give us more information and advised to call the national police of Las Palmas. Through the night the telephone number of the travellers couldn’t be reached.

On 3rd of October 2020 the Alarm Phone called SM Las Palmas at 10:02h CEST. They stated to have had a busy day yesterday with 7 rescues. They are still searching with an air asset. The shift team asked around for news and called the telephone number of the travellers – no success. At 15:30h SM Las Palmas was called: They rescued two boats this morning, but the numbers do not fit. In the evening SM spoke about many rescues this day and asked us to write an email, which we did. When we tried to find out more at the office of Guardia Civil, we failed because of a language barrier.

In the morning of 4th of October 2020 we learned that the boat is a green wooden boat. We pass this information in our next phone call to SM Las Palmas at 07:11h CEST. The officer informed the Alarm Phone that they sent an airplane for the boat. We still had no contact to the travellers. When we call SM Las Palmas at 12h. 14h and 17h they were still searching for the boat and no rescue would match with this case. Also a call to Guardia Civil brought nothing new to light. At 17:44h we called MRCC Rabat. The officer didn’t make a very responsible impression but seemed to know about the case. He added that there were no rescues by Morocco in the last days.

On 5th of October 2020 all further attempts to find out what had happened to the people failed.

On 6th of October 2020 news about a lot of missing boats emerged and left us and the relatives worried. At 12:28h the national police stated to have not located the boat and also no information about any rescue.

On 7th of October 2020 Guardia Civil was still looking for the boat.

The boat is still missing and the fate of the people unclear.

Last update: 09:36 Jan 19, 2021

Credibility:

Border police patrols
While the exact location of patrols is of course constantly changing, this line indicates the approximate boundary routinely patrolled by border guards’ naval assets. In the open sea, it usually correspond to the outer extent of the contiguous zone, the area in which “State may exercise the control necessary to prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws” (UNCLOS, art. 33). Data source: interviews with border police officials.
Coastal radars
Approximate radar beam range covered by coastal radars operating in the frame of national marine traffic monitoring systems. The actual beam depends from several different parameters (including the type of object to be detected). Data source: Finmeccanica.
Exclusive Economic Zone
Maritime area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea in which the coastal state exercises sovereign rights for the purposes of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, the seabed and its subsoil and the superjacent waters. Its breadth is 200 nautical miles from the straight baselines from which the territorial sea is measured (UNCLOS, Arts. 55, 56 and 57). Data source: Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Atlas of the European Seas and Oceans
Frontex operations
Frontex has, in the past few years, carried out several sea operations at the maritime borders of the EU. The blue shapes indicate the approximate extend of these operations. Data source: Migreurop Altas.
Mobile phone coverage
Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network coverage. Data source: Collins Mobile Coverage.
Oil and gas platforms
Oil and gas platforms in the Mediterranean. Data source:
Search and Rescue Zone
An area of defined dimensions within which a given state is has the responsibility to co-ordinate Search and Rescue operations, i.e. the search for, and provision of aid to, persons, ships or other craft which are, or are feared to be, in distress or imminent danger. Data source: IMO availability of search and rescue (SAR) services - SAR.8/Circ.3, 17 June 2011.
Territorial Waters
A belt of sea (usually extending up to 12 nautical miles) upon which the sovereignty of a coastal State extends (UNCLOS, Art. 2). Data source: Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Atlas of the European Seas and Oceans