Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 2nd July 2021

Case name: 2021_07_02-WM641
Situation: 38 travelers (8 children, 8 women, 22 men) leave from Dakhla towards the Canary Islands. Rescued and returned by the Moroccan Navy.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Atlantic

Summary of the Case:
On the 2nd of July 2021 at 08h37 CEST, the Alarm Phone was contacted by a group of 38 travelers in distress. They had left from Dakhla, Western Sahara, in the early morning hours, heading towards the Canary Islands. According to the travelers, there were eight children, eight women and 22 men on board of the rubber boat and their engine did not work anymore. They sent us a GPS location and reported that they had tried to call the Moroccan Navy several times, and according to the travelers, the Moroccan Navy had not confirmed to them that they would search for them. So, they asked us to call the Moroccan authorities again, to ensure their rescue. At 08h45 CEST, our shift team talked to an officer in the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Rabat who confirmed that a rescue vessel was heading towards the boat in distress. We also transmitted all information about the case to them via e-mail. At 08h52 CEST, we received an updated GPS location from the travelers, and they told us that some children were suffering from sea-sickness and several people were feeling very bad. At 10h28 CEST, we received the confirmation of the rescue of all people from the Moroccan Navy, and at 11h35 CEST, this was confirmed by a woman who had been on the boat herself. The 38 travelers were returned to Morocco.

Twitter Chronology:

02.07.2021, 12h49 CEST: https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1410913627759157250