Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 7th of November 2020

Case name: 20201107-CM324

Situation: 119 people, among them 9 women and 5 children, survived 3 nights at sea before they were brought back to Libya

Status of WTM Investigation: concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the Case:

In the morning of the 7th of November 2020 the shift team was called from a satellite phone. The travellers transferred a GPS position but it seems to be wrong. The next hours were used to verify the GPS position as well as to gather as much information as possible. Finally, at 09:04h an email to the competent authorities was sent with all information: A boat with around 100 people, among them also women and children started in Al Khoms on 6th November at 02h. The boat was a gray rubber boat and the engine was damaged.

Afterwards the shift team lost contact to the travellers until evening. When the Alarm Phone called the so-called Libyan coast guard at 09:50h they learned that they have sent a patrol boat at 05:30h but there was no migrant boat. MRCC Rome said in a friendly phone call at 10:11h the shift team should call the Libyans. At 10:55h the so-called Libyan coast guard still had no news. As the travellers were on sea more than 24 hours the Alarm Phone made the case public with a first tweet at 12:12h. When MRCC Rome was called at 13:48h they only said they know about the case. All attempts to reach the travellers was unsuccessful. Only at 18:49h the people on board called by themselves! Again, the GPS position was kind of confusing so the shift team needs another hour until they could transfer it to the authorities at 19:57h.

After another tweet the Alarm Phone starts to alert the company of a nearby vessels. At 20:32h the shift team talked to a person of the company who first wanted to read the email and then will call back. At 21:15h the Alarm Phone called again and the person was sorry to say he’s still searching for the responsible person. When the shift team got this information also the so-called Libyan coast guard had an information: A rescue operation was ongoing at a GPS position very near to the last of the travellers. The Alarm Phone should call back tomorrow. All the night the travellers were unreachable.

On 8th of November 2020 at 07:08h CET the travellers called the Alarm Phone and stated to need help, even if the Libyans would come. An email with an updated GPS position was sent at 07:41h to all authorities and also to the NGO Open Arms. The satellite phone couldn’t be reached until 08:50h. At this time the travellers transferred another GPS position and asked for help. The shift team arranged to transfer a GPS position every hour. At 09:22h Open Arms responded to our email and stated to set course to the position, this email was also sent to the authorities. At 10:17h the travellers told about 6 babies on board. Contact was lost until 11:49h were they spoke about the nationalities onboard: people from Mali, Sudan, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Somalia. This was the last contact to the travellers.

At 17:56h the so-called Libyan coastguard prepared the shift team with vague information about a rescue. In the evening the Alarm Phone only learned through third hand information that the travellers were brought back to Libya.