Rabat – Local police in the municipality of Rota (south of Spain) and civil guards intercepted yesterday, September 16, a small boat near the beaches of Costa Ballena. The boat came from Morocco and was carrying 17 Moroccan irregular migrants.
All the migrants are adults, aged between 20 and 30 years old, except one minor, aged 17, according to Spanish newspaper Andalucia Informacion.
After making sure that none of the migrants were injured, Spanish authorities transferred them in a Red Cross bus to a refugee center in Algeciras.
Moroccans and irregular migrants from throughout Africa attempt to cross the Mediterranean sea to reach Europe on a daily basis. In August, spokesperson of the Moroccan government Mustapha El Khalfi said that security services aborted 57,000 irregular migration attempts in 2019.
In the recent days, a video documenting Moroccan minors attempting to cross the sea in inflatable boats went viral. The footage shows the dangerous adventure of four minors, in three inflatable boats.
The four would-be migrants filmed themselves hiding inside a cave to wait for the dark. “We will start our attempt at midnight,” said the one recording the video. It is not yet known if the group succeeded or failed in their attempt.
