Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 3rd of November 2020

Case name: 20201103-CM319

Situation: 6 people started from Mahdia to Lampedusa, all travellers are intercepted by the Tunisian coast guard and brought back

Status of WTM Investigation: concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the Case:

On 3rd of November 2020 at 20:10 CET the Alarm Phone was called by someone in Tunisia. The person on the phone wanted to speak Arabic or French. After coming back to the person with an interpreter we learned that 6 people started from Mahdia, Tunisia, at 21:30h the day before and wanted to go to Lampedusa. 3 hours later more information was added: Among the travellers was a young children and the contact to the rubber boat with 2 engines was lost some hours after departure.

On 4th of November 2020 at 00:20h the shift team spoke again to the person in Tunisia. The person heard about a rescue to Lampedusa and wanted the Alarm Phone to verify this. When MRCC Rome was called at 01:12 they stated to be involved in many rescue operations last day and are not allowed to give more information. Indeed, the Alarm Phone learned the next day that 16 boats with around 870 travellers reached the island on 2nd November.

Later in the night of 4th November the shift team called directly on Lampedusa but due to language barriers it failed to gain information.

All the time the travellers couldn’t be reached.

At 10:10h the caller told the shift team that the boat with 6 people didn’t arrive in Lampedusa. A worried relative called who did not know whom to ask for the missing ones, the shift team advised to call the Red Cross.

In the evening MRCC Rome still do not want to give any hint to this case and only through information from the person called at first, the shift team got to know, that all travellers have been intercepted by the Tunisian coast guard and brought back to Mahdia.