Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 11th of February 2019

Case name: 2019_02_11-CM150
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to an emergency situation in the Central Med
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Monday the 11th of February 2019, the Alarm Phone received a direct call from a black rubber boat in distress in the Central Mediterranean Sea, carrying 150 people, according to the travellers on board. Later it turned out that they were fewer people on board, about 130 in total. They had left in the evening of the 10th of February from Al-Khoms. We asked them for their GPS position which they were, at first, unable to provide. The connection broke off before we could gather important information. For over thirty minutes, we were unable to reconnect to them, but we charged their satellite phone with credit in the meantime, which we did repeatedly throughout the day.

When they reached out to us again, they reported that they could see a white cargo vessel in the vicinity. Again, we were unable to obtain their GPS position. After several calls, around noon, we were able to receive their position which showed them already outside of Libyan territorial waters. They also informed us that there were about 25 infants and 60 women on board, many of whom were sick, and their engine had stopped working. Later we found out that there were fewer children and women on board. At 12.15pm, we informed MRCC Rome and passed on all collective information. They refused to state what rescue proceedings they would initiate. At 12.35pm, we also informed the Maltese search and rescue authorities. A few minutes later we were able to speak to the boat people again. Their engine was still not working and the cargo vessel passing white was white, heading south toward Libya. We agreed to speak periodically so that they would save the battery of their satellite phone.

At about 1pm, we went public with the distress situation, stating on Twitter: “150 lives at risk! Alarm Phone was called by boat coming from Khoms/Libya. They say 50-60 women & 30 children among them! There are sick & pregnant people. Their engine stopped working. No rescue in sight – authorities in Italy and Malta are informed.” At 13.14pm, the boat people stated that they could spot an aircraft as well as a boat in the distance. They expressed how scared they were of being returned to Libya.

At 13:49pm, we sent out a second tweet: “Today the weather in the Central Med improved, and thus we have people trying to escape #Libya. No NGOs are out and no state rescue assets – again disproving the pull-factor myth. We need the NGOs that are blocked by governments back at sea!” At around the same time, we spoke to MRCC Rome again and they informed us that the so-called Libyan coastguards would coordinate a rescue operation. According to MRCC Rome, the Libyans had already sent out a rescue asset. In the meantime, we were unable to re-connect with the people on the boat. At 14.45pm, we tweeted: “We have lost contact to the boat and cannot reach the people anymore. The Italian authorities once again rejected responsibility and informed the Libyan coastguards. We fear that the people are currently being abducted back to horrible detention camps in Libya.”

For several hours, we tried to contact the boat repeatedly, without success. At 16.55pm, we spoke to MRCC Rome again and they told us that a boat had been rescued near Al-Khoms. They were, however, unable to confirm whether this was the boat in question. They told us to contact the Libyan authorities. As in many cases before, the so-called Libyan coastguards were at first not reachable. Later, we were able to speak to a Libyan officer who confirmed that the boat had been found. They would be returned to Al-Khoms and brought to a detention centre.

On the following day, although they had been barred from attending the disembarkation procedure, MSF in Libya stated that 132 people had been disembarked the night before, including 10 children, 22 women, and 100 men with 11 different nationalities.