Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 19th of January 2021

Case name: 20211901-CM343

Situation: ~50 people were intercepted by so-called Libyan coast guard and brought back to Libya

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the Case:

On 19th of January 2021 at 07.28 CET the Alarm Phone was called by a satellite phone. The travellers transferred their GPS position vocally. They reported to be around 50 people on board, among them 15 women. The boat was dark coloured, the engine only running uncontinously and little water entered the boat. The travellers came from Guinea, Somalia, Ivory Coast and Mali. Six people were sick and the weather was worsening. At 07.50 the authorities and active NGOs were informed about the distress. At 08.21 the NGO Ocean Viking answered to our email. They’ve read the email and changed course to the GPS position for further investigation. At 08.38 Pilote Voluntaire, a reconnaisance plane, reported to arrived on-scene and confirmed the distress. Later on the Alarm Phone spoke to the travellers who said to have seen a white air plane with red lines and also one air plane looking like a drone. They delivered a new GPS position. At 10.22h the first tweet went out, only minutes later Moonbird, aerial asset of Sea-Watch, reported to us that they have spotted the boat and unfortunately also observed a vessel of the so-called Libyan coast guard intercepting the migrants. Ocean Viking emailed later that they have been ordered to change course.