Dino Yomputu, on Wednesday, at a Red Cross office in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Quique Curbelo
Dino Yomputu (Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, age 35) had been stumbling around Africa for four years trying to find a better future for his two children when he decided to make the leap to Europe. “My second child was on the way and I blew up. I realized I had to give them an education,” he says. In Rabat, Morocco, he and his friend Lukombo Palmusie – whom Yomputu calls “brother” – each paid €3,700 for a trip that would take them “as VIPs” from El Aaiun (Western Sahara) to Spain. However, it all ended in “a nightmare,” the Congolese recalls in a Red Cross office in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, three weeks after the shipwreck.
On April 26, on the fourth day of the voyage and already lost, they were spotted by a Salvamento Marítimo helicopter 150 nautical miles (241 kilometers) southeast of Gran Canaria. When the ship Guardamar Calliope tried to rescue its occupants – 57 people according to Yomputu’s calculation – the boat capsized and everyone fell into the sea. 27 people drowned, including small children and their mothers. “Babies’ bodies have passed and smashed into me.” The survivor bursts into tears as he recounts what happened. “I advise against going this route. It’s not worth it,” he says.
More information
Yomputu is a professional guitarist and bassist. He hasn’t seen his children in four years. Recently divorced, in 2018 he decided to cross the Congo from Kinshasa and settle in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo. Thus began a journey that took him through the heart of the continent: Gabon, Cameroon, Benin, Mali and Mauritania. “At the end of the day, all countries in Africa are the same, it’s difficult to be successful and have a better life.” Once in Morocco, he was able to save a little money by performing in clubs and discos and doing the occasional cooking job. “I worked all the time, and the music was with me all the time.”
Dino Yomputu (right) and his friend Lukombo Palmusie in the gardens of Hotel Santa Catalina in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on Wednesday. Quique Curbelo
The contact
What affects most is what happens next. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything.
Subscribe to
One day he and his inseparable friend, the percussionist Lukombo Palmusie, were visited by another friend from the Congo who, he explained, had a contact that enabled them to travel to Europe. “Guaranteed, he assured us.” They got the call that same day: they would each pay €3,700 and get special treatment. “We would arrive in the Canary Islands in one day.”
Almost 24 hours later they took the bus to El Ayoun. “We were very motivated with the idea of being a VIP, I was convinced that everything will be fine…”. In the Sahrawi city, they spent several days locked in a small room with six other people, sleeping on the floor. “It was a bit like being in prison,” Yomputu recalls. “But we were happy, not nervous at all.” They were made with basic supplies and even two life jackets.
A few days later it started. “Night, always night.” Another car picked them up to take them to a hangar. There the scene took a turn: “There were about 120 people there, and a lot of women and babies.” Shortly thereafter, two pickup trucks loaded up 61 people and set off on a route that often led into the desert to avoid checkpoints. Until they reached the foothills of a mountain where men, women and children would spend their last day on the continent under the Saharan sun.
Rescue workers landed in the port of Arguineguín the only body the Guardamar ‘Calíope’ was able to recover from the shipwreck that left 26 people missing on April 26. Angel Medina G. (EFE)
The exit
“When we got to the beach around two in the morning the next evening, the sea was calm,” Yomputu recalls. “But within minutes strong waves started to break and some in the group got nervous.” At the time, the leaders of the Moroccan mafia warned them not to bring amulets, watches or necklaces on board. “Anything metallic had to be left on land because the water spirits, the Mami Watas, don’t like jewelry.” Five or six migrants could not bear the fear and fled just before boarding. Once embarked, the die was cast: “The point of no return” was passed, says Yomputu, who emphasizes this fact: “Those who brought us don’t like it when their routes become known.” Already on board the force of the sea made it difficult for the boat to overcome the first three or four waves. And when they were over them, the Moroccan driving them jumped into the water and returned to shore. “A negro took the wheel and we set off into the dark.”
The conditions in a boat are extremely difficult, explains Yomputu. “I hardly slept for four days. We were very, very full. It touched me on the edge of the boat and since there is little space you fall in the water if you are not careful. You can easily spend the entire journey in the same position.” And his journey wasn’t exactly smooth. “I was throwing up the whole time, and on top of that, some of my vomit fell on a very small child.” The boat moved forward, but the crossing was already beginning to squirm. The compass had stopped working for the first few kilometers.
“Things got tense on the second day,” he continues. “The captain had turned off the engine to save fuel and everyone started discussing the direction. Some cried and asked us to go back. The captain yelled at us that we had to keep calm, that he didn’t want to die at sea. And he ended up drowning.”
On the third day, prisoners of despair, the three bosses went to the aisle. They were sure that some were traveling with amulets, and that’s why everything went wrong. “We started searching everyone and we found three women who had three gold chains in their hair.” They threw the chains into the sea. And then, Yomputu claims, things started to get better. “The compass came back to life and we even got GPS fix and a phone signal. It really was like that,” he says. The restored phone signal allowed them to contact Helena Maleno, the manager of the NGO Caminando Fronteras, who gave them the coordinates to proceed. “Suddenly we all feel very motivated and happy, encouraged.”
However, there was still one day left. And the worst was yet to come.
The tragedy
“A helicopter flew over us at one o’clock in the morning,” says the musician. An hour later, the Guardamar Calliope ship arrived in the area, already carrying on deck another 80 people from two previous rescue operations. “Everyone was very satisfied. However, I had a bad feeling. I adjusted my vest and stripped off whatever I was wearing underneath, clinging to my body. I sensed the danger approaching.”
The Calliope began the approach maneuvers, let go of the rope… and chaos ensued. “Everyone wanted to jump. They forgot that there were pregnant women and babies on board. The boat moved violently to one side, then the other…”. The attacks resulted in all 57 passengers falling into the sea. Many of them, like Yomputu himself, could not swim.
We woke up to a terrible tragedy: 27 people, including 13 women and six babies, died after the boat they were traveling in capsized. The survivors are transferred from Salvamento to Gran Canaria. #DEP
– Helena Maleno Garzón (@HelenaMaleno) April 26, 2022
“Suddenly I found myself in the water and it all became a life and death struggle.” He remembers being swept away by a wave at a distance that seemed about 30 meters to him. “I felt like dying there. Swimmers went around me, children’s bodies went past and collided with me. And I could hear her screams… Still, I seem to hear her screams at night when I’m trying to sleep.”
The last try
“I have to control myself, that’s just me,” he says, he thought. He grabbed some floats and tried to move towards the ship. Three weeks later, sheltered in a Red Cross-managed center and sitting in a chair on the mainland, he explains that it was his “brother” Lukombo Palmusie, who was penultimate on board the salvage ship, who turned his head and put him under distinguished the lifeless bodies in the water and sounded the alarm, which enabled them to be rescued in extreme cases. Once on board, he was hugged “like a child”. Still, Yomputu has another theory: “It was God who saved me.”
That night, 26 of the 57 people reportedly on board the boat disappeared into the ocean. Salvamento Marítimo was only able to recover one body, that of a woman. Now Dino Yomputu wants to finish his route in Madrid. But before explaining his plans, he makes his request: “I want to say to everyone that you shouldn’t try to travel like this, it’s not worth it. And to Interpol and the police: No more mafias who deceive people and put people in danger.” Again, her own crying prevents her from speaking further.
Exclusive content for subscribers
read limitless