MIGRANTS ON WHATSAPP Refugees brave 16ft waves, 100mph winds and dodge ships in inflatables and pedalos… then call coastguard on their mobiles
Paddling for five hours from Morocco to Spain, 8,200 migrants have already made their way into Europe on the shortest Africa to Europe crossing this year
From Robin Perrie in Tarifa, Spain
23rd August 2017, 11:48 pm Updated: 24th August 2017, 9:55 am
THEY come in children’s dinghies, floating on car tyre inner tubes and even, on one occasion, aboard a pedalo.
All have paddled for five hours from Morocco to Spain across one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
8,200 migrants have made the Morocco to Spain crossing already this year
And they are an increasingly common sight from the packed beaches where British families are enjoying their summer holidays.
Many have set off on the nine-mile crossing armed only with smartphones and the Spanish coastguard’s emergency number.
They call for help when they are too exhausted to paddle any further — although increasing numbers are using instant messaging service WhatsApp to demand a rescue.
According to the UN, 8,200 migrants have made the crossing already this year, dodging 220,000-ton container ships as well as battling 16ft waves and 100mph winds.
It is a record number and a huge rise from the 2,500 who made the trip during the same period last year. On a single day the Spanish coastguard rescued 600 people.
Recent clampdowns on routes to Europe from Libya have led to the increase on the western Mediterranean passage which could see it overtake Greece as the second busiest crossing after Libya-Italy.
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