Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 08th July 2022

Case name: 2022_07_08-ATL064

Situation: 71 travellers in distress in the Atlantic Sea, intercepted by the Moroccan navy after three days at sea. Two people reported dead.

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Atlantic Sea

Summary of the case: On Friday the 8th of July 2022, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of 71 travellers, including six women and four children. The travellers had left from around Akhfenir the same morning at 02.00 CEST on a rubber boat. We managed to reach the travellers, who told us that one woman was pregnant and that they were exhausted. We had problems getting their correct GPS location but immediately alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo to the distress situation, forwarding all the information we had.

Throughout the night, we tried to get the correct GPS position of the boat, but were unable to due to bad connection. Salvamento Maritimo told us that they went looking for the travellers by aircraft but that their search was also without result.

The following day, Salvamento Maritimo told us that the Moroccan search and rescue authorities were responsible for the operation. In the early afternoon, we reached the travellers again and managed to get their correct GPS position. They told us that their engine was no longer working and we could hear people crying in the background. Online, we could also see that the weather in the region was bad. We immediately forwarded the new position to Salvamento Maritimo. When we spoke to the travellers again, they told us that two people had fallen into the water and drowned. We tried to call the Moroccan rescue authorities but were not able to reach them. However, we sent them all the information we had via email. In the meantime, we had lost contact to the boat. Online, we could see a merchant vessel close to the last known position of the travellers, and on the phone Salvamento Maritimo confirmed to us that this vessel was standing by the boat for now. We soon after spoke to the Moroccan rescue authorities, who confirmed that a rescue operation was ongoing, estimated to be carried out in 6-8 hours. In the evening, we re-established contact to the travellers. They were exhausted and hungry and several of the travellers were sick. They confirmed that they could see the merchant vessel close by. An hour later, we spoke to the travellers again who were panicking as water was entering their boat. At 22.16 CEST the Moroccan authorities told us that the Moroccan navy had reached the travellers and were carrying out the rescue operation.