Two footballers from Moroccan top-flight club Ittihad Tanger, Abdellatif Akhrif, 24, and Salman El-Harrak, 18, are missing at sea after a yacht incident off the northern coast near M’diq.
The incident occurred on Saturday during a team excursion. Three others – club employee Oussama Aflah and reserve team players Soumaimane Dahdouh and Abdelhamid Maali – were rescued.
According to Aflah, the group encountered strong winds and rough seas while swimming close to shore, causing them to drift away from the boat. He confirmed that they had life jackets on board but were not wearing them while swimming.
“Everything was normal – we woke up, had breakfast and rented a boat from the marina,” he said.
“On our way out to sea, we were even stopped by the coastguard who made sure our papers were in order and that we had life jackets.
“Everything was fine and we were swimming within sight of the shore and just a few metres from the boat before the sea completely changed and heavy winds took us away from the boat.”
Search efforts are ongoing, and club president Mohamed Cherkaoui has appealed for responsible media coverage. Ittihad Tanger, a club based in the top league since 2015 and boasting a league title win in 2017-18, are understandably shaken by this tragic event.
The post Moroccan footballers missing at sea first appeared on 3News.
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