Casablanca — The two French sailors who had been missing at sea off northern Morocco since Sunday were found alive on Thursday evening after spending four days adrift, according to the National Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center.
The two men were rescued by a merchant vessel operating off the coast of Assilah. A representative of the center said the ship located them after receiving a message that had been sent to all vessels entering the search area. Authorities then worked to confirm their identities before announcing the successful rescue.
Moroccan officials assisted the crew of the merchant ship during the identification process. The two French nationals are expected to be disembarked in Cadiz, in southern Spain, likely during the night, according to the same source.
The search operation began early Sunday after the center received an alert at around 1:15 a.m. GMT reporting that the catamaran Stella was experiencing water ingress. Adrien Danzé, the father of Vincent Danzé, one of the missing sailors, said a first message warned of the leak. A second message sent shortly afterward indicated that the crew was abandoning the vessel and moving into a dinghy.
The catamaran was being delivered from Martinique in the French Caribbean to a European port, either Barcelona or Marseille, according to Danzé’s father.
Later, the catamaran was found still afloat. A life raft was also recovered, but both were empty. They were located about three nautical miles, or roughly five kilometers, from the coast of Tangier. Search teams then focused on locating the dinghy, which was equipped with an outboard motor and had been used by the crew after leaving the catamaran.
Morocco deployed significant resources during the operation. Two aircraft, two helicopters, and three maritime units were mobilized. Civil Protection divers and rescue teams also searched along the coastline.
France contributed to the operation by deploying a naval aircraft on Monday. The aircraft later left the search area the same evening, according to Moroccan maritime rescue authorities. Satellite-based searches were also carried out. By Wednesday, the search perimeter had been expanded into Spanish waters.
The circumstances that led to the incident remain unknown. Authorities said the sailors were not carrying an emergency distress beacon.
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