Spanish ferry runs aground off Morocco 02/05/2008 00:00

About 113 passengers that were travelling from Moroccan port of Tarfaya to Canary island of Fuerteventura were rescued.

2 May 2008

LAS PALMAS, SPAIN / RABAT - A Spanish ferry with 113 passengers on board ran aground and partially sank off the Atlantic coast of Morocco, media reports said Friday.

The passengers were brought to safety after a dramatic rescue that involved the Moroccan navy and local fishermen, the reports said.

The ferry as-Salama was travelling from the Moroccan port of Tarfaya to the Canary island of Fuerteventura when it struck a rock and began taking on water.

"We had to rush with the children to the rescue boats," one woman was cited by Spanish daily Canarias as saying. "The money, the clothes, and the luggage we had to leave on board."

The passengers were predominantly from Morocco and Spain. The Spanish daily El Pais said that the ferry also was carrying vacationers from Germany, France and Japan.

[dpa / Expatica]