Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 11th of September 2020
Case name: 2020_09_11-CM296
Situation 65 people, including 7 women and 3 children, rescued by the Open Arms. 1 man dies.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the Case:
Just before 02:00 CEST on 11 September we were contacted by a group of travellers in serious distress. It had been raining, they were soaked through and they were exhausted. They had been at sea for nearly 72 hours having left Libya at around 03:00 on 9 September. They were able to read out their position to us. The group consisted of 65 people, including seven women and three children.

We immediately contacted the relevant authorities by email, passing on the information. We also copied in the civil fleet. We followed up with a phone call. Only the Italian authorities answered the phone, but they refused point blank to give us any information. As always, MRCC Malta illegally ignored our phone calls. With no response from the authorities, we put out the following tweet:
SOS! ~65 people at risk in #Malta SAR!
Last night we were alerted by a boat in distress in Malta SAR. The people are at sea for 3 days, ran out of food & water. The weather is getting dangerous. We alerted authorities at 2:24am, but still no rescue in sight.

We remained in contact with the boat throughout the night and the next morning. They kept us updated about their position and their rapidly deteriorating situation. The travellers were becoming more and more scared and more desperate. They had run out food and water. They were soaked through and facing heavy seas. We were unable to get any response from the European authorities. The only positive development that we were able to report to the travellers is that the Open Arms acknowledged receipt of our email. They informed the authorities, copying us in, that they would be proceeding to this distress just as soon as they could.

Just before midday we were told that one man had died. The unconscionable delay in organising rescue had now proved fatal. We put out the following tweet:
We are still in contact with the ~65 people in distress in #Malta SAR zone. They have been at sea for ~57 hours with high waves & they are panicking. They said one person on board died. @Armed_Forces_MT & @guardiacostiera, how many people have to die before you intervene?

We were able to stay in contact until 15:30. We receive regular updates from board as to their deteriorating condition and their position. There was no news of a rescue. MRCC Rome were unable to give information, but we were hopeful that, with the Open Arms now in the area, rescue would be forthcoming.

It was not until nearly 11:00 the following that we were able to find credible info information that the people had been rescued. We put out a final tweet:
We can now confirm that also this boat in distress was found by @openarms_fund and then rescued by Italian authorities! We are relieved that the approximately 65 people survived and escaped the violence in #Libya.