Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 24th of November 2016

Case name: 2016_11_24-WM126
Situation: 11 travellers rescued in Western Med and brought to Tarifa/Spain
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Thursday the 24th of November 2016 at 7.35am, the Alarm Phone was called by a contact person from Morocco and informed about a rubber boat that had left Tanger/Morocco at 5am, with 10 men and one woman on board. We were provided with the travellers’ phone number, which the caller was not able to reach anymore. We tried to call the travellers directly at 7.44pm, but without success. At 8am, we received a second phone number from the contact person and via this number we were able to talk to the travellers immediately afterwards. They told us that they could see a red oil tanker and a white-yellow fishing boat and that water was entering their boat. They urged us to alert the Spanish rescue organization Salvamento Maritimo (S.M.). We called S.M. in Tarifa at 8.15am and forwarded the second phone number of the travellers. The rescue organization already knew about this boat and confirmed to us they had already started a rescue operation. We informed the travellers and the contact person accordingly and agreed with the travellers that they call us back in one hour. At 8.50am, we discovered the red oil tanker on vesselfinder.com and also one of S.M.s rescue vessels, the SALVAMAR ALKAID in the same area. At 9.30am, we talked to the travellers again and learned that S.M. had called them and had promised to rescue them soon. As they were not able to see their rescue vessel, we agreed to call them back in 30 minutes. Afterwards, we sent an email to Salvamento Maritimo’s Rescue Coordination Centre in Madrid, to also provide them with all information in written form, which they directly forwarded also to the Moroccan Marine Royale. However, at 9.56am, the Spanish MRCC in Madrid called us and confirmed to us that the 11 travellers had been rescued by S.M. and were brought to Tarifa/Spain. In two other calls with S.M. in Tarifa and with the contact person, both confirmed to us that the travellers had indeed been picked and were on their way to Spain.