Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigation – 5th of May 2015

Case name: 2015_05_05-CM16
Situation: Approximately 108 people in distress off the coast of Libya, urgently requesting rescue
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean Sea, near the coast of Libya

Summary of the Case: On Tuesday the 5th of May 2015, around 7am, the shift team of the Alarm Phone received a distress call directly from a vessel located in the Central Mediterranean Sea. At first, communication to the passengers was difficult but after several phone calls and exchanges of text messages, coordinates indicating their position could be obtained. They stated that there were approximately 108 people on a rubber vessel moving north and they requested urgent help. These information were passed on to the MRCC Rome, the Maltese authorities, the UNHCR as well as MOAS. MRCC Rome confirmed that they were ‘managing the case’ without providing us with further information.

In the following hours, our shift teams received several updates from the passengers. New information about their position was immediately passed on to the Italian authorities. We were also able to re-charge their satellite phone so that they could continue to make calls. We cautioned them, however, to not strain the battery of their phone too much. The shift team followed the trajectory of the vessel and searched the area around the vessel in distress. However, no vessels were to be seen in vicinity.

Around noon, the situation became increasingly dangerous. The passengers informed us that they were running out of fuel and that some people had collapsed already due to a lack of food and water and due to the high temperatures. The shift team promised to do all in their power to urge rescue services to send rescue vessels to them. In conversations with MRCC Rome we were notified that a rescue operation was underway but that there were several cases of distress in the area.

In the following hours, the people on the vessel became increasingly anxious and desperate, repeatedly telling the shift team that they needed urgent assistance. Following the movement of their vessel, we were able to detect the Gagliardo, an Italian tug boat that had apparently diverted its course, slowly moving in the direction of the vessel in question. The shift team was able to connect to the company that manages the tug boat and asked whether the Gagliardo was instructed to conduct a rescue operation. The spokesperson of the company was very cooperative and, after contacting the Gagliardo himself, confirmed that they had been instructed by MRCC Rome to move towards the location of a vessel in distress, presumably the vessel in question.

Via text messages, we informed the passengers on the vessel that help was underway and that they should stay strong and prepare for rescue. Around 3pm, rescue had, however, still not taken place and the passengers were getting increasingly anxious, repeatedly reaching out to our shift team.

Then, suddenly, no contact to the passengers could be established anymore. The shift team then also contacted the UNHCR to draw attention to the emergency case and to prompt the MRCC Rome to forward details about their rescue efforts. While seeking to reach the passengers every 5 to 10 minutes, the line remained silent. Our shift team noticed that their satellite phone credit had not changed, so that they could not have made any further calls. We reached out to the MRCC Rome once again to demand an update as the situation has become very worrisome. However, in a phone call around 5pm, a person from the MRCC Rome refused to provide any information and abruptly ended the call.

Then, finally, around 5.30pm, in another phone call to MRCC Rome we reached a cooperative spokesperson who shortly afterwards confirmed the rescue of the vessel in question, also stating that the passengers would be brought to an Italian harbour. Later in the evening, around 9pm, the UNHCR also confirmed the rescue of the vessel.