Moment Spanish police boat runs over migrant speedboat 0-4 screenshot

Human rights organisations in Morocco and Spain have urged Spanish authorities to open an investigation following the emergence of a video that appears to show a Spanish police patrol boat colliding with a small Zodiac speedboat, believed to have been carrying migrants trying to get to Spanish territory.

Footage shows the Spanish Civil Guard chasing the speedboat and attempting to block its path when it ploughs into it. According to local reports, the four passengers on the speedboat were flung into the water, and one briefly required hospital treatment. All passengers are understood to have been rescued.

The incident occurred off the coast of Melilla, a Spanish territory in North Africa. Local authorities say the Civil Guard followed standard procedures to prevent migrants from reaching the shore. Moroccan officials stated they are investigating the collision, while Spain’s interior ministry has announced that it will not launch an investigation.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights reported that Moroccan police confirmed no fatalities resulted from the incident. In a social media post, the organisation described the Spanish intervention as “violent and dangerous” and mentioned that a source informed them that the four individuals on board were safe and had been arrested.

“Yet no investigation has been opened to date on the Spanish side,” the association says in a statement. “The Spaniards are totally responsible and must take responsibility for opening an investigation.”

On Tuesday, the Melilla-based NGO Solidary Wheels called for a “detailed explanation” of the Civil Guard’s actions.

Politicians in Spain also expressed their concerns.

Aina Vidal, the parliamentary spokesperson for Sumar, the junior partner in Spain’s leftwing coalition government, condemned the collision as an “intolerable human disaster.” Sumar, along with other political parties, has demanded an official explanation from Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Spain’s interior minister.

Jon Iñarritu, a member of the leftwing Basque coalition EH Bildu, described the incident as a “savage deed” on social media and announced plans to urgently request that the interior minister appear before a parliamentary commission to explain Spain’s response.

Moroccan authorities have noted that most attempts to smuggle migrants by boat into Melilla and Ceuta, Spain’s other North African territory, are orchestrated by traffickers operating from Spanish cities. Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s two enclaves on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast, are the only European Union territories with land borders in Africa. These enclaves occasionally face waves of attempted crossings by migrants seeking to enter Europe.

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