ARCHIVED - Search called off for nine migrants in Mazarron after boat capsizes

Two bodies were found shortly after the incident and three were rescued alive

Emergency services have given up all hope of finding any more survivors after a boat believed to have been carrying fourteen irregular migrants capsized off the Mazarrón coastline on Saturday evening.

During the latter part of last week nearly 200 irregular migrants either reached, or were rescued off the shores of the Murcian coastline (the final count on Wednesday and Thursday was 142 and 43 arrived on Friday), a scenario also played out in neighbouring Alicante and Almería, where several boatloads of irregular migrants were detected in each province, the good weather and full moon encouraging several hundred to make the trip across from the African coastline between Wednesday and Friday .

On Saturday the wind changed and although the sun continued to shine, conditions became more dangerous. Normally this type of stronger wind would deter the migrants from making the dangerous crossing, but for some reason this small boat containing fourteen people, decided to try and cross late on Saturday afternoon, aiming to arrive at sundown when there is less chance of being detected.

It is highly unusual to take such a risk when better conditions usually return after waiting for a few days, but perhaps the success of so many boats successfully reaching Spain in the preceding days overcame caution and the boat set out.

It reached the waters off the Mazarrón coastline at around 19:00 on Saturday evening, and families enjoying a weekend away in their campervans were the first to hear cries of distress about 200 metres from the Percheles coastline where the boat capsized.

Fortunately a police patrol was nearby and reached the scene rapidly.

The officers went straight into the water, swimming out to try and rescue those in distress, and succeeded in bringing three people in to the shore alive.

Two more bodies washed up shortly afterwards, but although a large contingent of search and rescue personnel arrived at the scene, no further trace was found of the remaining travellers on board the boat.

One of those rescued indicated that there had been minors on board the vessel, but in spite of an extensive aerial and coastal search throughout the day on Sunday, stretching from Calnegre to Mazarrón, no further traces of the remaining nine people or the boat have been found.

On Monday the active search was called off and replaced with a “passive search” to try and locate the bodies or the boat.

This particular route across from Algeria has become increasingly popular during the last eighteen months as it is being run by organised criminal gangs, who generally charge around 2,500 euros a head to transport illegal economic migrants from Algeria to Spain.

Further sums of money can be paid to facilitate onward transport to destinations within Europe, some of these irregular migrants even attempting a second crossing from the French coastline to reach the UK. Others disappear into France or Belgium where there are significant communities of Algerians living already. Others remain in Spain and try to find illegal work, as legally they are not permitted to work in Spain, and have no visas or passports. They are frequently referred to as “sin papeles” ( no papers).

The problem has been worsening in Murcia, Alicante and Almería since the organised gangs started to organise runs across using high speed powerboats for the journey. If intercepted, the pilot usually attempts to camouflage himself amongst the other travellers, hoping to be deported back to Algeria for another run without being arrested and facing criminal charges.

Police have been increasingly targeting these pilots in an attempt to break into and dismantle, the gangs. They have achieved some success in recent months, but with paid jobs in short supply in Algeria, there are always more people waiting in the wings willing to take a risk for significant gain.

Last year the number of migrants from Algeria increased considerably, although the numbers diminished on other migrant routes in Europe.

It’s not uncommon for boats to capsize and the International Organisation for Migration reports that 58 people have died attempting to enter Spain by sea this year.

Last year the figure was 330, although most of the deaths occur on the more dangerous route into the Canary Islands which is the more popular route for Sub-saharans attempting to enter Spain illegally.
So far this year, 4,377 irregular migrants have been detected illegally entering Spain by sea, a slight increase on the 4,033 of the same period last year.Last year 41,861 irregular migrants entered Spain by sea, 29 per cent more than in 2019.

2,580 of these migrants have entered Spain through the Canary Islands, which last year witnessed a massive surge in detections due to the closure of the migrant transit centres because of Covid (last year the figure was 756 per cent up on the 2019 total ).

These are now open again.

All migrants reaching Spain are being PCR tested and quarantined due to Covid-19.