Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 2nd of August 2020Case name: 2020_08_2-CM278
Situation 65 people arrive under their own steam to Lampedusa
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean
Summary of the Case:
At about 23:15 on 2 August 2020 we were phoned by people on a boat between Malta and Lampedusa. The boat carried around 65 people. Although they had a satellite phone, they felt hopelessly lost in the pitch dark in the middle of the sea. They asked us to contact the Maltese authorities which we attempted to do. As always there was no response.
We kept in contact with the boat as best we could as they moved towards Lampedusa. We updated the coastguards with their evolving position. We lost contact with the people in the small hours of the morning, but were relieved to receive a phone call from them at 06:30 on 3 August. They were closer to Lampedusa but still lost at sea. With no response from the authorities, shortly after 08:30, we took to
Twitter:
Last night, #AlarmPhone was alerted by another boat in distress in #Malta SAR zone. ~65 people fleeing Libya are on board. Communication to the boat is very difficult as calls repeatedly break down. Rescue is needed!
We had no news from the boat, the coastguards or the relatives for the next few hours. Just before midday we relieved to receive a phone call from one of the relatives who had seen a Facebook post from a local TV station in Lampedusa showing their loved ones arriving. Welcome to Europe.
Last update: 19:16 Dec 05, 2020
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