Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 8th December 2021

Case name: 2021_12_08-WM881

Situation: 60 travellers in distress in the Atlantic Sea, seven died while the rest returned to Boujdour.

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Altantic Sea

Summary: On Wednesday the 8th of December 2021, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of 60 travellers, including 15 women and three children, in distress in the Atlantic Sea. The travellers had left from Laayoune early the same morning on a rubber boat. The relative informed us that water was entering the boat and that the boat was in urgent distress due to bad weather. We immediately relayed all the information we had to the Moroccan rescue authorities who confirmed that they would take responsibility. We also forwarded the information to the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo. At 09.03 CEST we finally managed to reach the boat directly, but were not able to get an updated GPS position due to bad connection. At 09.45 CEST the Moroccan rescue authorities told us that they had localised the boat south of Laayoune and that the Moroccan navy would carry out a rescue operation. Soon after, we reached the boat again, and managed to get their GPS position, showing that they were very close to the Western Saharan coast. We stayed in close contact with the travellers who were panicking and tried to calm them down. They kept repeating that they were in grave danger and that a nearby fishing vessel refused to provide assistance. At 12.44 CEST the Moroccan rescue authorities told us that the travellers had landed on a beach close to Boujdour and that they were transferring them from the beach. In the afternoon, the relative confirmed to us that the survivors were in Boujdour. However, they told us that seven travellers had lost their lives during the attempt to reach Europe.