Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – November 11th 2020

Case name: 2020_11_11-CM327

Situation: Estimated 100 people arrived to Lampedusa; 75 people rescued to Italy; 20 people reached Malta; 64 people rescued by SAR vessel Open Arms

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Position Case 1: 34.56667, 12.46667

Position Case 2: 34.08333, 12.21667

Position Case 3: 34.46044, 12.61919

Position Case 4: 33.78333, 12.38333

Summary

On November 11th, Alarmphone was alerted to four boats in distress, carrying a total of 259 people. 100 people arrived to Lampedusa and 75 reached Italy, while a third boat carrying 20 people was rescued to Malta and another 64 people who had fled Libya rescued by the SAR vessel Open Arms.

Summary Case 1

In the early morning of November 11th we were alerted to a boat in distress carrying estimated 100 people, including twelve women and five children. At the time of the alert people on the boat informed us they had not food on board and their boat was leaking. We received a GPS position and forwarded it to authorities at 04.26 CET. We called authorities several times to confirm the reception of the information but our calls remained unanswered until 09.51 CET when an operator responded but refused to confirm the launch of a rescue operations. Throughout the morning we received updated GPS positions from the boat which we forwarded to authorities via e-mail. At 10.09 CET we received another call from the boat in distress, informing us that water had continually entered the boat, people on board were wet, had no water or fuel left and in desperate need of support. Throughout the day we received updated GPS positions from the boat which we forwarded to authorities via e-mail. At 20.53 CET we called authorities for an update on any ongoing rescue operation but our request for information was denied. Media reports on the arrival of a boat matching description with our case strongly suggest the boat arrived safely in Lampedusa.

Summary Case 2

In the early morning of November 11th Alarmphone was alerted to a boat in distress carrying 75 people including 7 women and 2 children. People on the boat informed us that there was no food, water, or life vests on board while water had started entering and several people had headaches. The caller sounded desperate for help. We received a GPS position and forwarded it to authorities at 01.43 CET. We continuously called the so called Libyan coast guard but no one responded to our calls. At 07.23 CET and 10.41 CET we received an updated GPS position and again forwarded it to authorities; according to the caller the battery of the phone on board was very low. At 12.50 CET people on the boat called – they were afraid of having to die at sea and urgently requested assistance. They told us they could see blue and white fishing vessels some distance away; we forwarded this information to authorities and requested a maritime safety information message to be sent. The operator answering the call refused to confirm this or any other action. Throughout the evening we tried to contact authorities via phone but our calls remained unanswered. In the morning of November 12th we were finally able to speak to an operator of MRCC Rome, who confirmed the reception of our e-mails but refused to provide any information on an ongoing rescue operation. On tracking platforms we saw vessel IVY 1 in the vicinity of the distress case and tried to contact the shipping company via e-mail, informing them of the nearby boat in danger. Our last contact to the boat in distress had been at 19.15 CET November 11th. In the afternoon of November 13th a relative of people on the boat informed us that the boat had been rescued to Italy and people on the boat had been able to call their relatives.

Twitter Chronology:

November 11th 2020

22.30 CET https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1326637482755166209

November 12th 2020

08.57 CET https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1326796173152296961

Summary Case 3

In the afternoon of November 11th Alarmphone was alerted to a boat carrying 20 people who had fled Libya. We were informed of the case by a relative of the people on the boat who was worrying since they had not had any news from them since the morning that day. We forwarded the information the authorities at 16.40 CET. We were unable to establish direct contact with the boat. In the late evening that day we received a call by another relative of people who had escaped on this boat, informing us of the boat’s arrival to Malta.

Summary Case 4

In the afternoon of November 11th Alarmphone was alerted to a boat in distress carrying between 70 to 100 people including six women and four children. At the time of the alert people on the boat were panicking and urgently asking for help. We received a GPS position and forwarded it to authorities at 16.50pm via e-mail. Around 22.00 CET the SAR vessel Open Arms confirmed the rescue of a boat matching our case.

Twitter Chronology

22.12 CET https://mobile.twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1326633271539675137