Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 11th February 2021

Case name: 2021_02_11-CM364

Situation: Boat in distress in the Central Med, brought back to Libya where the travellers were transferred to a detention camp

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the case:
On Thursday the 11th of February at 19.34, the Alarm Phone received a direct call from a boat in distress in the Central Mediterranean. The boat was carrying around 90 people who had departed from Zawiya at 03.00 CET the same morning. The travellers informed us that they were in urgent distress as water was entering their boat. After explaining on the phone how to find a GPS position on a Thuraya phone, we managed to receive their position. At 20.08 CET we forwarded all the information we had to the Italian coastguard and the so-called Libyan coastguard, as well as members of UNHCR and relevant rescue NGOs. We then called the so-called Libyan coastguard and the rescue coordination centre in Rome, who both confirmed that they had received our information but did not give us any information about steps taken to rescue the boat. During the night, our shift team stayed in contact with the travellers, and updated the relevant authorities with new positions and additional information we got. In addition, we were able to recharge credit to the Thuraya phone of the travellers, allowing them to communicate during their ongoing distress. At 22.00 CET we called the so-called Libyan coastguard who informed is that they would reach the boat of the travellers within 13 minutes. However, half an hour later we received another position from the boat which was still at sea. After this point, we were no longer able to reach the travellers. At 01.29 we learned from a tweet from UNHCR Libya that 93 people had been brought back to Libya by the so-called Libyan coastguard.
At 08.49 CET we called the so-called Libyan coastguard again, and they finally confirmed to us that they had rescued the boat and that the travellers would be brought to a detention camp in Libya.


Tweets by Alarm Phone concerning the case:

21:20: https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1359960400297664516
SOS 90 lives at risk off Libya!
We were just alerted by ~90 people in distress in a rubber boat off #Libya. Water is entering the boat and rescue is needed immediately. Authorities are informed, the so-called Libyan Coastguard is not reachable!
Don't let them drown!

09:19: https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1360140982495416324?s=09
UPDATE: In our last call yesterday night, the ~90 people told us about a large vessel approaching them. We then lost contact and were later informed that they had been intercepted by the so-called Libyan Coastguard & forced back to Libya, where they tried to escape from.