Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – January 2nd 2022

Case name: 2022_01_02-CM004

Situation: 17 women, two children, 13 men in distress off the coast of Sfax, likely to have capsized with only four survivors

WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of Case: In the afternoon of January 2nd Alarm Phone was called by a relative who alerted us of a group of 32 travellers, including 17 women and two children, who had departed from Sfax on December 31st 2021 in a red and white wooden boat. Another boat carrying 26 people, including 11 women and two children had departed at the same time but, the caller informed us, it had turned back. The relative related they had had no news of the group since their departure and was very worried. We forwarded the alert to authorities at 16.14 CET. At 17.02 the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre in Tunis confirmed the rescue from sea and interception to Tunisia of a boat carrying 26 people, including 11 women and two children but did not provide any information about the second boat. We informed the relative, who in turn provided further contact numbers of the people still at sea. We were unable to establish direct contact and forwarded the numbers to authorities. Throughout the night, we continually called all numbers provided to us by the relative but were unable to establish contact. At 09.27 CET the relative who had alerted us to the case informed us that they had gained information the boat had capsized and Tunisian fishers had found only four people in the water beside an empty boat. We were unable to estabish direct contact to the survivors. Port and Search and Rescue authorities refused to provide any information regarding the 17 women, two children and 13 men who had departed Sfax on December 31st 2021.