Search Intensifies for Missing Moroccan Businessman and French Companion in Mediterranean Sea

The 7.3-meter sailboat has been missing for a month about 75 miles off Begur, with on board the Moroccan businessman Mamoun Rtal Bennai, 34, and the French animation director Emmanuel Rouffio, 63. Maritime rescue services have launched a search to find the sailboat and the two missing persons. Without success so far.

"It is not at all common for a boat to disappear, and even more so in this area of the Mediterranean," explains Toni Rivas, a professional sailor and sports director of the Garraf Maritime Club, to El Pais. According to the latest data from the Permanent Commission of Inquiry on Maritime Accidents and Incidents (CIAM) under the Spanish Ministry of Transport, 19 fishing boats that sank were investigated in 2020.

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The sailboat was recently acquired by Rouffio. He and his Moroccan friend decided to go to Tangier before joining the Canary Islands in the summer. They planned to make a stopover in the Balearics on May 10 before reaching the Moroccan city. His wife last spoke to him on May 5, the day of their departure from the French coast. Cross Med, the French maritime rescue, last located the sailboat on the morning of May 6, about 80 miles from Cap Creus.

For French maritime rescue expert Francis Courteaux, the sailboat used by the two missing persons is too small for such long crossings. Waves can block its AIS signal, especially in the Gulf of Lion where strong storms are regularly recorded. According to the expert, the sailboat could have been seriously damaged after a storm, leading to the failure of all safety and distress systems.

The French authorities, in collaboration with the Spanish and Italian authorities, continue the search to find the sailboat as well as the two occupants. Their families cling to the hope that they are still alive.