This is a video that is going viral on social media.
Spanish national police on Sunday intercepted a boat carrying migrants attempting to illegally enter Spanish territory in North Africa, effectively cutting the migrant boat apart in a collision. British Telegraph It was reported on Wednesday.
Incredibly, no one was seriously injured, but the footage caused a stir in cyberspace.
Video: Migrant dinghy crushed by Spanish police boat
Police can be seen chasing the speedboat and trying to block its path, but the speedboat cuts it in half.
read more https://t.co/5Pi2OAXQEv pic.twitter.com/DbFgnp4Wp1
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) August 28, 2024
According to the Telegraph, the Spanish ship was Guardia CivilThey patrol the coast off Melilla, a small Spanish exclave that borders Morocco in North Africa.
The collision occurred as they were pursuing a boat with four passengers on board and trying to prevent it from reaching shore.
The people on board were quickly rescued, and only one person required short hospital stay, according to The Telegraph.
A spokesman for one of Spain’s left-wing coalition government parties called the incident an “unbearable humanitarian disaster.”
Reactions to the video ranged from praising the authorities for their apparently draconian measures to criticizing their extreme nature.
“That’s how you stop it Illegal immigration“This is to stop people entering your country illegally,” declared a social media post by Turning Point UK. British faction Conservative American groups Turning Point USA.
Spanish boat police intercepted the migrants’ rubber boat.
This will stop illegal immigrants from entering your country illegally. pic.twitter.com/cICaO6WWRf
— Turning Point UK (@TPointUK) August 28, 2024
“Everyone has had enough,” he wrote. Tommy RobinsonBritish conservative political activist.
A Spanish police boat pursues the migrants’ rubber boat, running it over and sending the occupants flying.
Everyone has had enough. pic.twitter.com/CSPsZbby7b
— Tommy Robinson (@TRObinsonNewEra) August 29, 2024
The migrants’ boat is believed to have departed from Morocco.
According to a left-leaning British publication: GuardianThe Moroccan Human Rights Association condemned the attack as “violent and dangerous.”
And Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, called the police actions “dangerously aggressive” in a social media post.
The video “appears to show a Spanish police vessel briefly taking a small boat carrying people towards the Spanish coast,” a dangerously heavy-handed move to stop migrants. https://t.co/UXGtxhlJN0
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) August 27, 2024
Moroccan authorities said they were investigating the incident, according to the Telegraph.
According to the paper, Spain apparently decided that this was not necessary.
“Two Spanish exclaves on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast, Ceuta and Melilla, share the European Union’s only land border with Africa,” the Telegraph noted. “These exclaves have seen sporadic attempts by migrants to cross into Europe.”
This article was originally published on Western Journal.
