31/12: 45 people left from Khoms, Libya. Fate unknown.
Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 31 December 2019
Case name: 2019_12_31-CM218
Situation: 45 people left from Khoms, Libya. Fate unknown.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean


Summary of the Case:
On 31 December 2019 at 14.00h CET the Alarm Phone received news from a fisherman about a boat in distress. He had found the rubber boat adrift with no working engine in 2-3 metre high waves at about 12.00h on 29 December. He reported that there were around 45 people on board, and that it was approximately 35km north of Khoms when he found it. They had little water, and no food or fuel and were unable to make any distress calls. Unable to take the travellers on board his own boat, the fisherman had tried to contact the so-called Libyan Coastguard (CG) on reaching port on the evening of 30 December but he received no answer.

On receiving this report we contacted the Italian Coastguard (CG) who agreed to contact the two merchant vessels in the area. We also emailed the so-called Libyan CG, and the NGO boats Seawatch 3 and Ocean Viking.

At 15.34h we contacted the shipping company of one of the nearby merchant vessels, but were told that they did not know anything this boat and that they would await instruction from the Italian CG.

At 17.46h we emailed the Italian CG again to enquire whether they had notified the merchant vessels in the area and whether they would be conducting any aerial surveillance to search for the boat. They replied at 19.00h later that evening stating that they were not responsible. We asked again whether they had any news of this boat the next day on 1 January 2020 at 08.23h and they responded again at 09.41h that they were not responsible and would not take action.

We also spoke to the so-called Libyan CG at 18.43h on 31 December 2019 who told us they had not rescued this boat. We spoke to them again at 08.12h on 1 January 2020 and the case remained the same.

We also spoke to international organisations UNHCR, and Médecins Sans Frontières Libya but they did not have any further news about the fate of the 45 travellers the fisherman had seen.

We fear the worst but hope the travellers somehow returned to land.