Spanish police have opened an inquiry after four people were killed as a result of being forced out of a moving speedboat into the sea just metres from the southern shores of Andalucía.
According to officials, in a strategy that is becoming more prevalent, 27 individuals lost their lives on Wednesday after being forcibly removed from a high-speed boat by its drivers near Camposoto beach in Cádiz, Spain. An additional eight individuals were abandoned near Sancti Petri beach.
According to the Spanish government press office, it is believed that all 35 individuals were migrants from northern Africa.
The remaining individuals who were on the boat, including six minors, were able to survive after being forced off. Four individuals were transported to a medical facility, some with hypothermia.
Pictures on social media seemed to depict a dark ship close to a shore, while individuals were being forcefully pushed off the boat’s side. A few others were already in the frigid, turbulent ocean, fighting to keep their heads above water.
Recently, there was an occurrence that occurred several months after a report from Frontex, the EU organization responsible for managing borders and coast guard operations. The report stated that smugglers are now more frequently utilizing speedboats to move migrants from Morocco to Spain.
According to El País, the drivers would frequently resort to violence to quickly push or throw migrants off the boats as they approached the shores of Europe. This was done in order to avoid being caught by the police, and they would then hastily turn back.
According to witnesses, this strategy was employed as the boat approached the coast of Cádiz on Wednesday.
Javier González, the manager of a company that provides windsurfing lessons, informed the press: “We witnessed the arrival of a boat involved in drug trafficking, but instead of transporting drugs, it was carrying migrants. Suddenly, some of the passengers started jumping and others were thrown.”
He stated that while he and others rushed to assist the individuals in the water, the boat quickly departed.
González and his son saved eight individuals. According to him, one of the rescued individuals recounted being threatened with a gun and given the ultimatum to either jump or be shot.
González and his son utilized their company’s inflatable dinghy to rescue individuals from the water, making two separate trips.
The individuals were all youthful, ranging from 15 to 20 years of age. The ones who could communicate expressed gratitude towards us,” he recounted. “It’s difficult to imagine the fear on their faces. They revealed that they had paid €5,000 (£4,300) for this journey.”
Authorities stated that they were looking into the matter and had initiated a pursuit for the watercraft, which was identified as a high-speed boat typically utilized for smuggling drugs between Spain and Morocco.
Those on the frontlines of the drug battle said they were not surprised by the shift in strategy. “They are unscrupulous people and, when you don’t have scruples, it doesn’t matter if what they have to throw overboard are bales of hashish or people,” Francisco Mena, who leads a Cádiz-based anti-drug organisation, told the news agency EFE.
The deaths – coming as Spain grapples with a 70% increase this year in irregular migrant arrivals – prompted a call by Spain’s second deputy prime minister, Yolanda Díaz, for Europe to change its approach to migration.
“I am appalled by this news,” she posted on social media. “It is a tragic situation when those seeking a better life are met with death…We need a Europe that is open and accepting, so that our seas and oceans are no longer a burial ground.”
Source: theguardian.com
