London Cellphone Call Gets Sailors in Spain Found & Rescued

Published: November 24, 2008 | 7296th good news item since 2003

Technology is everything these days…

A British sailor and his Belgian friend who got in trouble in off the coast of Spain were rescued after the wife of one of them raised the alarm in London.

The long other and his Belgian friends left from the island of Mallorca to go to Spain.

Her husband would call in right away at the end of the 22 hour trip. So, when she hadn’t heard of from him after 24 hours she called for help.

She dialed 999 (the British 911) and explained them what was her concern.

Emergency line in turn put her in touch with the British coast guard. They in turn alerted the international Coast Guard liaison office. And fire them a message was relayed to the Spanish Coast Guard.

An air and sea search was launched and the pair was found and picked up after about three days.

The maritime rescue center in Mallorca, talking to Spanish reporters, called the rescue Americo, especially since if the wife had to notify anybody no one would have known these people were in trouble.

“It’s a miracle they have been found. The last contact anyone had with them was on Wednesday night when they spoke to their relatives to say they had hit high seas and the boat was rolling and pitching.

One of the lessons is that if you have any concerns about anyone anywhere at sea then tell the authorities and something can be done no matter where you are.”
– Miguel Chicon, director of the Maritime Rescue Centre in Palma

Published in Rescues
See also: www.telegraph.co.uk