05/04: 7-8 men from Temsaman rescued to Motril

06.04.2021 / 11:42 / Western Mediterranean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 2021

Case name: 2021_04_05WM582

Situation: 7-8 men from Temsaman rescued to Motril

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean

Position: 36.62511, -3.73953

Summary of Case
On April 5th at 19:05h CET the Alarm Phone was alerted to a grey rubber boat carrying 7-8 men that left from Temsaman early in the morning going towards Motril. Since we did not manage to establish contact with the boat, friends of the travelers requested that we inform the authorities. At 19:34h we informed the Spanish authorities however they refused to give us any information about the case. At 22:10h we learned from the relatives of the travelers that they were about two hours away from Motril, that their motor was blocked and they were drifting on the sea. We were not able to establish contact with the boat throughout the whole night. At 05:00h we received the information from friends of the travelers that the boat was 2km away from Motril, that their boat was blue marine not grey, that it has been on the water since 80 hours and they also confirmed that they are 7 men. At 05:40h we updated the Spanish authorities (Salvamento Maritimo Almeria) about the case. Shortly after we received another call from relatives who told us that the situation on the board was getting worse because they ran out of fuel. At 6:25h the Spanish authorities informed us that they are sending an asset to rescue the people. At 08:20h a journalist informed us that according to the Spanish police (Guardia Civil), the people have been rescued to Spain. Later on we also got a confirmation about the rescue from the relatives of the travelers.

Twitter Chronology

5. April

21:19CET
https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1379151676507049987?s=19

6. April

12:32CET
https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1379381411820531712

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