Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 29th of September 2015

Case name: 2015_09_29-CM47
Situation: 128 travellers rescued
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Tuesday the 29th of September 2015, at approximately 4.30am, the Alarm Phone received a direct call from travellers in distress in the Central Mediterranean Sea. They stated that they were about 125 people, including 2 women, one of whom was pregnant. They had left Libya and were on their way to Malta. In English and French and through their satellite phone they told our shift team that they could not steer the vessel anymore and had lost orientation. There were too many people on board, many of whom were sea-sick. Our shift team asked about their GPS position but was only able to receive incomplete coordinates. The passengers tried to find them on their satellite phone several times, without success. We sent a text message to the phone, explaining how to find the position and we also checked their credit which was sufficient for them to reach out again.

At 5am we called the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Rome and informed them about the case. They noted down all the details and asked us to contact them immediately if we were able to receive their coordinates. Finally, at 5.12am, the travellers told us their position which we quickly passed on to MRCC Rome. They confirmed that they would work on the case.

In turn, we informed the people in distress that Italy would launch a rescue operation. At 7.25am, the travellers passed on their updated coordinates, clearly indicating that they had moved in the meantime. They said that they could see a vessel but it was too far away for them to describe. We advised them to stay calm and wait for rescue. We, again informed MRCC Rome about the newly received position of the boat. The Italian authorities said that they were searching for it but could not estimate how long it would take to reach the people.

At 7.57am, the people on the boat reached out to us again and this time they were clearly anxious, with many shouting in the background. They told us that they could see a blue vessel with white letters on in the distance.

We then reached out to one of the vessels of Doctors without Borders at 8.12am, but they said that they were too far away from the people in distress and believed that their other vessel, the Dignity I, might be closer.

Shortly afterwards we spoke to MRCC Rome again and told them that the people could see a blue vessel and the Italian authorities confirmed that they were in contact with that vessel. The people in distress told us at 8.27am that they were moving towards the blue vessel and that their vessel had started to leak. We then passed on the number of MRCC Rome to them. At 9.02am, they told us that they could not reach MRCC Rome and that there were two vessels now nearby, one of which seemed to move away from them. MRCC Rome confirmed that one of the vessels was involved in another rescue operation and would then rescue the people on the boat. They also stated that they would reach out to the travellers directly.

At 9.40am, the travellers informed us about a white ship vicinity, possibly an Italian vessel, and a helicopter hovering above them. We advised them to stay calm. Afterwards, they could not be reached again. At 11.39am, MRCC Rome said that that one of their navy vessel had just rescued a boat with 124 people on board. They assumed that they were the people in question.