02/09: 45 people left from Dakhla rescued to Gran Canaria

03.09.2021 / 09:10 / Atlantic

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 2nd of September 2021

Case name: 2021_09_02-WM689

Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to 45 people, among them 26 men, 17 women and two children who departed from Dakhla on 1st of September and were rescued to Gran Canaria.

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Atlantic

Summary On Thursday the 2nd of September at 23:40 CEST the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of 45 travellers, 26 men, 17 women and two children, who had left from Dakhla towards the Canary islands on 1st of September. The provided telephone numbers couldn’t be reached, but the shift team emailed Salvamento Maritimo at 00:39 CEST on 3rd of September. When the shift team called SM Las Palmas in the morning they informed about two ongoing rescue operations and asked to call back later. Unfortunately the shift team couldn’t verify if the boat is amongst the rescued ones. In the evening of 4th of September Alarm Phone tweeted about the situation as it was to be feared that the travellers have to spend another night at sea. Luckily only hours later the rescue of the travellers was confirmed by Guardia Civil of Gran Canaria.

4th September, 18:15 CEST https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1434188164411928577

4th September, 22:21 CEST https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1434250410978598916

Last update: 12:45 Mar 29, 2022

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