After frantic search, Moroccan woman finds brother stranded on Canary Islands

Sarah Bettache is stopped by a Spanish National Police officer as she tries to find her brother Ahmed, 19, a migrant from Morocco, in the port of Arguineguin, on the Canary Island of Gran Canaria, Spain, November 16, 2020. REUTERS/Eduardo Robaina/La Marea

GRAN CANARIA, Spain (Reuters) - On Nov. 7, Sarah Bettache received an unexpected phone call from her brother Ahmed, who told her he was on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria.

Two days earlier, the 19-year-old had left his native Morocco on a rickety boat and embarked on a dangerous journey to reach the Canary Islands archipelago, around 100 km (60 miles) away.