Edmonton police helped kick off a rescue operation at the English Channel.
It all started when an Edmonton woman called police about an emergency where her brother and 50 other refugees were stranded on a raft in the English Channel.
The woman said that her brother was getting a hold of her through Snapchat, where he said the raft was floundering in the choppy waters.
“They’re going to die. All of them,” said the woman in the 911 call.
EPS ended up reaching out to the RCMP and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), whose English and French agencies took action.
“This event, the lives on the raft and the magnitude of danger they were in – I had to make sure it was just not a hand off of information or forgotten about,” said Becky Morrison, a supervisor with EPS’ communications centre. “There is the moral obligation to do something, exhausting all avenues. Which we did.”
Twelve afters the police call was placed, INTERPOL confirmed that all of the refugees had been rescued and were on their way to England. The brother’s location information on Snapchat helped authorities locate the raft.
