Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 18th of September 2017

Case name: 2017_09_18-WM161
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to emergency situation in the Western Med
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: In the evening of Monday, the 18th of September 2017, our Alarm Phone shift team was informed by a contact person in Morocco about a boat in distress in the Western Mediterranean Sea, carrying about 27 people. The boat had left from Tangier at 4am and we received three different mobile phone numbers. At 9.15pm, we were able to establish direct contact with one of the travellers but it was difficult to communicate. Shortly afterwards, our contact person in Tangier forwarded a GPS position of the boat and stated that the people on the boat had already reached out to the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo. At 10.06pm, one of the travellers informed us that they could no longer see the helicopter they had seen for a while but they were now able to see a vessel approaching them. Their engine had stopped working. They also told us that several younger people were among the group. After this exchange, we were unable to reconnect with them. At 10.46pm, our contact person in Tangier confirmed that they had been rescued to Spain by Salvamento Maritimo. At 11.13pm, Salvamento Maritimo in Tarifa confirmed the rescue of 29 people. We could establish that this was the group in question. They would be disembarked in Tarifa/Spain.