Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 30th March 2021

Case name: 2021_03_30-CM397

Situation: 85 people, including 10 women and 9 children in a shipwreck 4nm off the Libyan coast, at least 5 people drowned before they get intercepted by scLCG

Status of WTM Investigation: concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the case:

On 30th March at 06:29 CEST the Alarm Phone got called by a satellite phone. The travellers were panicking and it was not easy to receive information about the situation. We understood that they started 2 days ago in a white boat from Libya, they are 85 people on board, among them 10 women and 9 children. In a next call they could give us a GPS position, located 4nm off the Libyan coast, they added the boat was drifting because the engine stopped working.

At 7:30 CEST we informed the authorities about the distress via Email and phone. Since 9:30 CEST we have been calling the so-called Libyan Cast Guard on seven different numbers - without success. We also contacted MRCC Rome and RCC Malta, but they told us, they were not responsible or did not even pick up at all.

The people on board were panicking as one person had already drowned. They were in severe distress and afraid for their lives. At 10.50 CEST we sent another Email to the authorities with an updated GPS-position, but they did not respond. Meanwhile we were calling the so-called Libyan Coast Guard on nine different numbers. At 11.52 CEST we reached one of the officers, who told us that they would send a patrol boat into the direction of the shipwreck, but he did not want to say more. One hour later they told us, that they would have sent a patrol boat, but it wasn’t able to find the drowning boat.

The people in distress were calling us constantly. They started screaming: “We are dying! We are dying!” They also started to call the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, but only received vague replies. We also continued calling the so-called Libyan Coastguard, but the few times they picked up, the officer only spoke Arabic, although according to the SAR convention, any MRCC should be able to communicate in English. At 16:12 CEST an officer noted the latest GPS position and told us, they will try to see whether they would be able to send a boat, but it would take at least one hour to confirm it. Since then, we have called again and again, without success. The people on board were constantly calling the Alarm Phone as they were afraid for their lives and feared no one will come for their rescue. So far, the travellers told us that three children and two women have already drowned.

At 21:49 CEST we got informed by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, that their patrol boat “Fezzan” found the boat and brought the remaining people back to Tripoli. After this, we couldn’t reach neither the people on board, nor the relatives or the so-called Libyan Coast Guard anymore. We don’t know how many of the people have survived and how many have lost their lives at sea that day. Our hearts and souls are with the families of the victims.

Twitter chronology:

https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1376810353489817603?s=21

https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1376840607147167744?s=09

https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1377244753268502528

Alarm Phone report:

https://alarmphone.org/en/2021/03/30/europe-watches-as-a-shipwreck-takes-place-off-the-coast-of-libya/