Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations 24th March 2024
Case name: 2024_03_24-CM084
Situation: 120 travellers in distress in the Central Med, 117 rescued by merchant vessel, three lost their lives during the rescue operation.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the case: On Sunday the 24th of March 2024, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted to a group of 120 travellers, including seven children and two pregnant women, in distress in the Central Mediterranean Sea. The travellers had left from Libya on a blue wooden boat and told us that they had no more fuel left and were drifting. They also reported that they had no more food and drinking water. We managed to get their GPS position and immediately alerted the relevant search and rescue authorities, relaying all the information we had. We stayed in contact with the travellers and forwarded their updated positions to the authorities as often as possible. As time passed, we could hear that the situation onboard was deteriorating. Later, we learned that the travellers had been rescued by a merchant vessel and then transshipped and brought to Lampedusa. However, during the rescue operation six people fell overboard. Three of them were recovered from the water, the remaining three were not. Our solidarity and thoughts are with the families and friends of these three victims and with the survivors of this traumatising ordeal.

Tweets about the case:
https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1771842663660077320
https://x.com/alarm_phone/status/1772229232527118553?t=lHP869h2VSYhMdo9p6WDhg&s=09