Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 10th April 2020
Case name: 2020_04_10-CM239
Situation: 47 travellers that had departed from Al Khoms were rescued by Aita Mari.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: In the late evening of Friday the 10th of April, the Alarm Phone was called by a boat in distress carrying 47 travellers, including women and children, that had departed from Al Khoms. Communication was difficult due to bad connection and language barriers, our shift team tried to call back several times to confirm the information but we could no longer establish contact. At 22:43h we informed the Maltese and Italian coastguards via email about the case, at 23:35h the Maltese coastguard confirmed that they had received the email. During the rest of the night we were no longer able to speak to the travellers. Finally around 05:50h the following morning we spoke to the travelers again; they had run out of water and had no more fuel so the engine was no longer working. We also received a new position, very close to the one we got 9 hours earlier, we immediately passed it on to the authorities. At 07:48h we published the first of a series of tweets on the case. When we then tried to call the Maltese and Italian coastguards we were just put on hold in both cases. At 08:47h we spoke again with the travellers who gave us a new position and told us that they saw a red plane flying over them. At 9:15h and again at 10:50h ,11:56h , 16:15h and 17:10h we updated the authorities with new GPS coordinates. None of the authorities reacted. During these last calls the travellers sounded very tired and scared, they were continuously asking for water, 4 people had gotten a sunburn and one mother begged us to at least save her child. After having briefly lost contact with the people on board, we spoke to them again around 00:25h, we again emailed the authorities at 01:02h pressuring them to rescue the boat and not leave the travellers to die. As we noticed that a commercial vessel , MSC Lena, was in proximity of the boat in distress, and the travellers could see it circling around them, we tried to contact the company, however no one answered the phone. After trying unsuccessfully to speak to the Maltese coastguard several times, we sent another email with updated coordinates at 02:24h. The following morning, the 12th of April, the travellers told us that the commercial vessel was still near them, we thus emailed the company requesting them to rescue the people in distress. In the morning we again tried to reach the Maltese coastguard at least 6 times but no one ever answered the phone, therefore at 15:15h we emailed them again. Approximately 25 minutes later we spoke again to the travellers that told us that two people had lost consciousness and they were unsure wether one of them was alive or dead. We therefore sent a tenth email to the authorities, once again with an updated GPS position. At 16:17h we finally managed to speak to the Maltese coastguard who confirmed that they had received all of our emails, they told us that they had all the necessary information and would call us back. On hours later we sent an updated position. When we tried to call the Maltese coastguard again at 17:45h they just hung up on us. We later called the Italian coastguard who took all the information but did not tell us anything about a possible rescue operation. At 19:23h and 21:23h we sent updated GPS coordinates to Italian and Maltese authorities as well as to the NGO boat Aita Mari. When at 20:28h we managed to speak again to the Maltese coastguard they told us that they read our email and that we were interrupting their work with our calls! 45 hours after our first alert, the Maltese coastguard still did not give us any information on whether they would launch a rescue operation. At 21:49h the Italian coastguard similarly told us that they would not give us any information. During the evening we provided the authorities with updated coordinates several times, when we spoke to the Italian coastguard they still refused to give us any information. By 02:55h the travellers told us that 5 people were unconscious, waves were high and water was entering the boat. Again, during the night and in the morning we updated the coastguards and Aita Mari multiple times with updated positions. At 07:29h the NGO boat Aita Mari informed us that they were approaching the region of the boat in distress, however the ship had no rescue crew and could only monitor and support in a search operation. We continuously tried to call the Maltese coastguard for information, however they either did not pick up the phone or they hung up on us. After having sent several emails to us and the Maltese coastguard (who never replied) with updates on their position, at 10:13h Aita Mari confirms that they had arrived in proximity of the boat in distress, they requested Malta for instructions on how to proceed. Half an hour later Malta replied to Aita Mari’s email telling them to proceed and assist the boat in distress with food, water and other supplies. At 12:36h Aita Mari conformed that they had approached the boat and distributed food, water and lifejackets. They also confirmed that there were approximately 50 travellers, including a 7-months pregnant woman, a 7 year old child, and 3 other minors. Further, 6 people were severely dehydrated, while the crew of Aita Mari conducted basic first aid assistance they begged Malta for immediate intervention and assistance. At 14:50h Aita Mari informed Malta that the conditions were deteriorating, several people were vomiting and all the travellers were a potential critical case. They urgently requested a ship support as they could not manage the situation due to a lack of medical personnel and impossibility to evacuate safely part of the travellers in distress. At 17:44h Aita Mari received the instruction from Malta to take the travellers on board, a doctor was then expected to arrive from Malta. After spending 4 days at sea the travellers were finally rescued. In the evening we were informed that the travellers had been transferred to an Italian vessel where they would undergo 14 days if quarantine due to COVID-19.