Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 23rd of April 2016

Case name: 2016_04_23-WM91
Situation: 119 travellers crossed to Ceuta
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Saturday, the 23rd of April 2016, we were alerted to one case in the Western Mediterranean. At 11am, we were informed about a group of persons trying to cross to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. We called, but could not communicate with them due to much background noise. At 11:07am we asked a solidarity group in Ceuta to monitor the situation 'on the ground'. At 11:19am we got the confirmation that a big group of travellers had taken advantage of the low tide, walking around the fence of the enclave and had successfully entered Spanish territory. The group arrived at the beach of Benzu, where they remained on the rocks, afraid of being pushed back to Morocco. Along with the local group and the NGO Caminando Fronteras, we made the case public. At 12.12am we talked to one of the people who had crossed. He told us that a lot of Guardia Civil was at the beach, but that the Red Cross was present as well.
At 12.17pm, some of the people were transferred to the Centro de Estancia Temporal de Inmigrantes, a temporary shelter. The local solidarity group we were in touch with explained to us that about 50 persons were still on the beach where they were assisted by the Red Cross. At 12:44pm the Red Cross stated on Twitter that they had assisted a total of 119 persons, which was confirmed by the government delegate in Ceuta in a press release. However, the government officials later corrected the number, saying that only about 101 persons had arrived. About 40 people suffered minor injuries, and 7 persons were brought to the hospital, according to media reports.