Body of Missing Moroccan Soccer Player Possibly Found on Algerian Beach, DNA Test Pending

Soon a DNA analysis to confirm that the body of the player found on the Oran coast is that of Abdellatif Akhrif, a player who played for Ittihad Tanger in the Moroccan first division. The Royal Gendarmerie of Tetouan has contacted the victim’s parents to take DNA samples from the mother, we learn. These samples will then be sent to the central laboratory in Rabat. In case of confirmation, the procedures will continue to repatriate the body so that it can be buried in Morocco, more precisely in the city of Tangier, the birthplace of the player.

The Algerian maritime authorities recently recovered a body off Oran, Algeria, which would be that of Abdellatif Akhrif. On the web, a man shared a video showing a decomposing body floating near the Cap Falcon coast, in the Ain al-Trak region, on the outskirts of the Algerian city of Oran. Informed, the player’s brother left Madrid for Algeria to identify the body. According to relatives of the family, it is indeed the body of the player. Contacted by the Algerian authorities, Gaya Merbah, the Algerian goalkeeper of Ittihad Tanger, went to the morgue and would have confirmed that the body is that of his teammate. On his Instagram account, Merbah also posted a photo of Akhrif, showing him wearing a white striped black shorts, the same as appeared in the widely circulated video of the body floating on the surface of the sea.

On July 6, five Ittihad Tanger players had rented a yacht for an outing at sea, off the Restinga beach near Mdiq, in northern Morocco, near Gibraltar. But strong winds caused their boat to drift, leaving them stranded about 800 meters from the shore. Alerted, the Maritime Gendarmerie quickly intervened. It managed to rescue three of them: Oussama Aflah, Souleimane Dahdouh and Abdelhamid Maali. In contrast, their teammate Salman Harraq and Abdellatif Akhrif were reported missing.