Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations 27th August 2024

Case name: 2024_08_27-CM326

Situation:  Around 70 travellers in distress in the Central Med, arrived to Lampedusa.

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the case: On Tuesday the 27th of August 2024, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted to a group of around 70 travellers, including three women and three children, in distress in the Central Mediterranean Sea. The travellers had left from Zuwara on a rubber boat. They told us that their engine had broken, that they were drifting and that their boat was taking in water. We managed to get their GPS position, showing that they were in the Maltese search and rescue zone, and immediately alerted the relevant search and rescue authorities, relaying all the information we had. We stayed in contact with the travellers and passed on their updated positions to the authorities as often as possible. We were aware that a Frontex aerial operation had located the boat, however, no rescue arrived. As time passed, we could hear that the panic onboard was increasing as more and more water was entering their boat. We attempted to reach out to merchant vessels in the area, alerting them to the distress.
Later, we learned from a relative that the travellers had arrived to Lampedusa.

Tweets about the case:

https://x.com/alarm_phone/status/1828474274094665749?t=vAEMKbXlNiZB3mIk4hhucQ&s=19

https://x.com/alarm_phone/status/1828513995390644429