Safi: helicopters and rescue boats search for fishing boat missing since Friday

Sea and air units are still combing the waters off Safi for the “Lalla Khadija”, a traditional fishing boat carrying five sailors that failed to return to port. The Ministry Delegate in charge of Maritime Fisheries said in a statement that the search continues despite difficult weather and sea conditions in the area.

The boat’s owner alerted the ministry’s services at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, that the vessel, registered under number 7-7016, was overdue at Safi for longer than usual.

Search operations began as soon as the alert came in, covering the stretch of sea where the boat was believed to be. The effort is being directed by the Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre in Bouznika, which notified fishing boats and commercial shipping in or passing through the area so they could help locate the vessel.

Rescue boats based at the ports of Safi and Agadir have been deployed. Several fishing boats and merchant ships were also diverted to the search zone to assist.

Two helicopters, one from the Royal Gendarmerie and the other from the Royal Navy, have joined the effort, flying several sorties over the area in an attempt to spot the boat and its crew.

According to the ministry, the search was still under way when the statement was issued, with all agencies involved coordinating and available resources mobilised to find the traditional fishing boat and rescue the five sailors.