Ben Pawlowski
TWO young men who disappeared off the Andalucian coast last Tuesday, January 16, remain unaccounted for as Spanish authorities continue their desperate search.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, commonly known as Frontex, have joined the search in collaboration with Spain’s maritime rescue services.
The two men, aged 26 and 31 respectively, were fishing off the coast of Marbella when their 6.5 metre boat suddenly suffered an engine failure.
The pair, both residents of Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast, sent out a distress signal at 8.23pm on Tuesday evening.
An associate of the duo reported that their phones stopped emitting a signal shortly after the emergency warning was sent.
Officials from the Spanish maritime rescue service have since been scouring the area where the two young men were last seen, roughly 20 miles off the coast of Marbella.
Rescue boats and a helicopter have since been joined by an aircraft from Frontex, the EU border force that operates across the Schengen Area.
Officials have also used data on wind and currents in the Gibraltar Strait to search areas where the powerless boat may have travelled to.
However, rescue efforts have been hampered by unfavourable weather conditions.
Storm Irene brought gusts in excess of 37 knots, whilst Storm Juan means inclement weather is expected to persist until the weekend.
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