Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 27th March 2022

Case name: 2022_03_27-CM050

Situation: 32 travellers in distress in the Central Med, rescued by merchant vessel Karina.

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the case: On Sunday the 27th of March 2022, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of around 32 travellers, all men, in distress in the Central Mediterranean Sea. The travellers had left from Bengasi on a white and blue wooden boat. We managed to reach the travellers who told us that they were drifting, that water was entering their boat and that the weather conditions were bad. In addition they told us that many travellers did not have a life vest. We managed to get their GPS position and immediately relayed the information we had to the relevant search and rescue authorities. We also tried to contact a nearby merchant vessel, Karina, asking them to proceed to the location of the travellers to assess the situation. We stayed in contact with the travellers and forwarded their updated positions to the authorities when possible. On the phone we could hear how the situation onboard deteriorated as time passed. The following morning, Monday the 28th of March 2022, we spoke to the company owning the nearest merchant vessel they confirmed that they were searching for the travellers, heading towards their last known position. However, around midday the merchant vessel reported to have passed the last known position of the travellers twice without finding the boat in distress. At 14.28 CEST the travellers finally told us that they could see a bigger vessel close by. At 16.25 CEST we learned that the travellers had been rescued by the merchant vessel Karina and were all safely onboard.

Tweets about the case:
https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1508177735121842180
https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1508351754727051268