Y.P., a woman living in Ibiza, sends a WhatsApp message to her partner, F.B., whom she believes is in Algeria with his two brothers. She has not heard from him for several days. It is just a few minutes before seven in the morning on 13 November, and a few hours later—at 10:02 am—a reply finally arrives. But it is not the message Y.P. was hoping for: “I am at sea on my way to Spain. The boat has stopped about a hundred kilometres from Ibiza”.
From that moment on, there is no further contact, and an odyssey begins for the 23 passengers—among them a woman travelling with her four-year-old son—on the skiff that was rescued on Wednesday with only five migrants still on board. And a torment begins for Y.P.
The boat had been adrift for at least a week because, according to the woman, it set sail on Monday the 11th. Two days later, she manages to reach her partner again, who is travelling with his two brothers. And it is then—on that Thursday—when everything goes wrong. With waves between four and five metres high, the engine fails, he explains in a phone conversation with Diario de Ibiza.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.