Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations 15th of July 2015

Case name: 2015_07_15-WM31
Situation: Vessel in distress between Morocco and Spain
Status of WTM Investigations: Concluded
Place of Incidents: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Cases On Wednesday the 15th of July 2015 in the afternoon, the Alarm Phone received a call from relatives whose family had left the Moroccan coast in the night. They were concerned and passed on information about the travellers as well as a mobile phone number. About 25 men, 4 women and 1 baby had left Morocco at around 3am. After failing to reach the travellers, our shift team contacted the Spanish rescue agency Salvamento Maritimo in Almeria and was told that they were already searching for a rubber vessel. About an hour and a half later, at 5.30pm, Salvamento Maritimo stated that they had still not found the vessel in distress. Soon afterwards, we were contacted by the Spanish rescue agency: They had found a rubber vessel but were not certain whether it was the vessel in question. Moreover, as they were still located in Moroccan waters, it was not clear whether they would return them to Morocco or disembark them in Spain.

At 8.30pm, we reached out to Salvamento Maritimo once more and they reported that the passengers on the discovered vessel matched the description of the vessel in question. The 29 travellers were already on the rescue vessels and would be brought to Motril in Spain. We called our initial contact persons in Morocco and told them about the good news. They were relieved and thanked us.