Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 24th April 2021
Case name: 2021_04_24-WM590
Situation: Around 50 travellers in distress in the Atlantic, rescued by Salvamento Maritimo and brought to Fuerteventura.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean
Summary On Saturday the 24th of April 2021 at 16.48 CEST, the Alarm Phone shift team was informed by a relative about a boat in distress on its way to the Canary Islands carrying 50 travellers, including six women and four children. The travellers had left the same morning at 03.00 CEST from Boujdour on a rubber boat. We had several phone calls with the relative in order to gather the relevant information. At 17.55 CEST we called the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvament Maritimo and passed on all the information we had. In addition to our call, we sent an email to the relevant actors. We were never able to establish direct contact to the boat, despite trying many times during the coming days. At 21.13 CEST we spoke to Salvamento Maritimo again. They informed us that they had localised the boat matching the description of the distress case we had alerted them to. The Spanish police force Guardia Civil told us half an hour later that the boat had been localised by an aircraft and that a rescue boat was on its way. Online, we were able to monitor the trajectory of the helicopter and the rescue vessel approaching. In addition, we spotted a cargo vessel that had changed direction and was standing by the rubber boat in distress waiting for rescue to arrive. We could further follow as the rescue vessel reached the position of the travellers, and how it after a while headed back towards Fuerteventura. Salvamento Maritimo later confirmed to us on the phone that they had found and rescued a boat matching the description we had given them.