It has been communicated by the Spanish Commission for Refugee Assistance (CEAR) on its official Twitter profile, and the news has quickly caused a great commotion: Yemeni medalist Helal Alhaj has been drowned while trying to reach the coast of Melilla in patera. "Another tragic sign that not even those fleeing inhuman wars are guaranteed the right to apply for asylum safely," CEAR adds along with the information.

The young Yemeni practiced wushu , a martial art similar to kung fu , and had taken him to the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games and the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games, where he won a bronze medal.

In a press release that collects the Melilla Hoy media, the Government Delegation in Melilla has reported that on September 18 the body of a man of about 24 years was located at the bottom of the sea, in the area of ​​the espadrón de the breakwater. The Civil Guard had activated the search device after an immigrant traveling in a patera gave notice, two days before, that one of his companions had fallen into the sea about 30 meters from the coast.

The man had gone to the Temporary Stay Center (CETI) to report that he had reached Melilla after swimming after being deposited at sea by a boat. According to this Yemeni migrant, another man who was missing had descended from the patera.

"I didn't know he was drowning"

"When he shouted, I thought it was because of fatigue. I didn't know he was drowning," said the companion of the deceased athlete to Afp, in statements that Arab News collects. "The waves were very high, the trip was very complicated."

According to the agency, the athlete's body has been repatriated to the Yemeni city of Aden on Thursday, and his father and brother will travel from Saudi Arabia to attend his funeral. "He always said he could not reach his sports goals by staying in Yemen," said one of Helal's friends.

The 24-year-old medalist had been unsuccessful for two months trying to cross the border between Morocco and Melilla, so he tried his last chance: to swim. "It was a short distance, others before he had succeeded," his brother complained to Afp, "he was fit, it seemed that it would be easy but tragedy hit him and the strong swell took him ahead."

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