Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 15th July 2022

Case name: 2022_07_15-ATL071

Situation: 42 travellers in distress in the Atlantic Sea, returned to Morocco by themselves, then lost in the desert without food or water. Finally managed to reach town.

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Atlantic Ocean

Summary of the case: On Friday the 15th of July 2022, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of 42 travellers, including six women and three children, in distress in the Atlantic Sea. The travellers had left from Tan Tan at around midnight on a blue rubber. Although the travellers had no satellite phone with them onboard, we managed to reach them and get their GPS position. The travellers were panicking and told us that water was entering their boat. We alerted the Moroccan rescue authorities to the distress of the travellers, and they confirmed that they sent a vessel to conduct a search and rescue operation. We stayed in conta ct with the travellers who were getting increasingly exhausted, attempting to pour water out of the boat.
In the evening, the relative informed us that the travellers had arrived back to land by themselves.
The following day, we got in touch with the group of travellers again. After their exhausting journey at sea, they were now lost in the desert without food or water. They told us that a woman and a child amongst them were ill. On the phone, we guided them to walk in the direction of the nearest town. Eventually, they found a car which brought them to town.