After seven hours of agonizing wait for their rescue, a total of 45 people managed to survive the last of the shipwrecks recorded this year on the Canary Islands immigration route and which occurred on Thursday night in international waters, just 23 miles from the Moroccan coast.
Twelve, according to data held by Maritime Rescue of Spain and reported by Morocco, were not so lucky and perished in the attempt to reach the coasts of the Canary Islands, which this year has become the main destination for vessels leaving the African coasts. One of the bodies was rescued by Morocco – that of a woman – while the rest, including a baby, was swallowed by the Atlantic after the inflatable in which they were traveling took on water and no one came quickly to help them. In total, 58 people were traveling, all of sub-Saharan origin. The figures are, however, confusing and other sources, such as the NGO Caminando Fronteras, which was the one who raised the alarm, point to 14 deaths. It is unknown if among them is the nine-month pregnant woman who contacted this NGO late yesterday to report that they needed help and that the boat was sinking.
The occupants of the boat gave the notice at around 2 p.m. to the NGO Caminando Fronteras, which has become the main support for immigrants leaving the African coasts and their families. At 3:39 p.m. on the peninsula, the notice came to Salvamento Marítimo, according to company sources, and immediately the Rabat control center was informed, which took over the coordination of the rescue and agreed to send a patrol boat to the area. Finally, it was the patrol boat ‘Al Manar’. Help did not come until 10:30 p.m. (peninsular time) and the tragedy was not avoided. Caminando Fronteras criticizes that neither of the two countries activated the means quickly to save these lives.
From Maritime Rescue it was indicated yesterday that Spain and Morocco were in contact all the time but that it was Rabat who assumed coordination due to proximity, since the vessel was 23 miles from the Moroccan coast, 72 from Cape Bojador (Sahara) and 158 from Maspalomas (the south of Gran Canaria). In addition, it is noted that, when the notice was received, the ships that were in the area were contacted and it was the merchant ship ‘MSC Ambra’ that came and accompanied the RIB until the Moroccan patrol boat arrived to carry out the rescue. “We have no confirmation of what this NGO points out,” Maritime Rescue stated yesterday.
The CGT Maritime Rescue union points out that the problem with leaving rescues to Morocco is that there is no action protocol nor does it have the means of Spain. “The closest medium acts but now the usual thing has happened that not all means are not equal. A Spanish patrol boat leaves in 20 minutes but in Morocco it does not work the same way,” these sources indicate. As they explain, there is the Rabat control tower, which exists to comply with the obligation set by Europe, but the Moroccan coastal police “does not have to comply with what they are told.” “It is a control tower with little validity,” they point out. Furthermore, as they point out, Moroccan patrol boats do not usually have a fixed location, so yesterday, they could be many miles from the shipwreck and they do not have a crew on board all the time as happens in Spain. “It is moored but they are not on guard like us, which delays the interventions,” these sources say.
From the NGO Caminando Fronteras, its founder Helena Maleno, indicated yesterday that this new tragedy could have been avoided since the occupants of the boat were giving notice and providing positions from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., when rescue resources were mobilized.
“There are 14 victims (the data they handle) who could be alive today if Spain and Morocco had coordinated to save their lives,” says Maleno, who criticizes that “the focus is always” on immigration control. In his opinion, in the maritime area shared by Spain and Rabat and which is “very delicate politically and territorially,” a policy of omission of the duty to provide relief has been established that is causing victims. “This shows us the racist policies that the Spanish State is implementing regarding human rights in border control,” says Maleno.
Already in June of this year another shipwreck with similar characteristics occurred. Walking Borders warned of a boat in trouble, Morocco assumed coordination and arrived late, with a death toll of 37 people out of 61 occupants, including two children and a baby. History has repeated itself.
So far this year and with two days left until its closing, nearly 40,000 people have arrived in the Canary Islands, a figure that breaks all previous records, with the islands of El Hierro and Lanzarote as the main destinations. Only yesterday, Thursday, almost 300 people arrived and today the trickle continues, with almost 50 in the last few hours.
