Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 17th September 2021

Case name: 2021_09_17WM714

Situation: 15-20 travellers in distress on their way from Algeria to Spain, their fate remains unclear.

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean

Summary: On Friday the 17th of September 2021 shortly before midnight, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of around 15-20 travellers, including two young women and a little boy, in distress in the Western Mediterranean Sea. The travellers had left from Oran, heading towards Almeria on a white fiber glass boat. According to the relative, the travellers’ engine had broken down. The relative had lost contact to the boat at 19.00 CEST and our shift team was also not able to establish direct contact to the travellers despite continuously trying throughout the night and the following day. At 01.07 CEST we sent an email to the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo, alerting them to the distress if the travellers. They confirmed that they were searching for the boat in the area. We were never able to get a confirmation neither from Salvamento Maritimo nor from the relative about what happened to the boat. As the information we had about the boat was not specific enough, we were also not able to match the boat with articles published in Spanish media about arrivals. We very much hope that the travellers arrived safely to Spain.