Teens Risk Perilous Night Crossing from Morocco to Spain on Makeshift Rafts

The scene takes place in the Strait of Gibraltar. In a video shared by the Iberian website, El faro de Ceuta, undated, we can see four young teenagers on simple plastic boats. They have hidden behind a rock to attempt the crossing after midnight.

One of them is the author of the video. According to his explanations, the group of young people plans to attempt a night crossing of the Strait to Spain. According to the website, these teenagers accomplished the feat after being rescued by Spanish rescuers and taken back to Algeciras where they would have been taken care of by the Red Cross.

However, not all of them were as lucky. Four young Riffians, Abdelouahab Allali, 24, Noureddine Allali, 31, Salih Zahaf, 30, and Morad Zahmari, 27, are still being sought after their departure from the coast of Nador on jet skis, at the beginning of the month, the same source indicates. Without news of them since their departure on September 5, their families would have raised the alarm.

In total, 55,898 people made the boat crossing from Morocco to Spain from January 1 to September 11 of this year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Among them, 909 others perished at sea. According to the IOM, this figure is significantly lower than in 2018, when more than 2,000 people died trying to make this perilous journey.