24/01: 45 people from Zawiya were rescued to Lampedusa

25.01.2021 / 12:41 / Central Mediterranean

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 24th of January 2021

Case name: 20210124-CM353

Situation: boat with 45 people from Zawiya almost reached Lampedusa on their own but were finally rescued close to Lampedusa

Status of WTM Investigation: concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case:

In the morning of January 24 the Alarm Phone got information about a boat in distress in the Central Mediterranean Sea. The people had departed from Zawiya, Lybia, in a white rubber boat with 45 people on board. We informed the authorities at 10.40h CET about the distress of water entering the boat. Unfortunately we were not able to establish direct contact to the people and get their coordinates, but the NGO „Pilotes Volontaires“ spotted them and with the help of the relatives who contacted us we could identify some people on board. Pilotes Volontaires confirmed the distress, the boat was adrift without engine working and people had no life jackets. The situation got delicate due to bad weather conditions and we asked authorities for rescue operations, but did not get any information. Finally, at about 1.30h CET on January 25 we got information that the a boat was rescued close to the coast of Lampedusa. Due to the fitting details we were able to identify the boat as this case and be certain the people arrived safe to Lampedusa.

Last update: 13:02 Apr 29, 2021

Credibility:

Border police patrols
While the exact location of patrols is of course constantly changing, this line indicates the approximate boundary routinely patrolled by border guards’ naval assets. In the open sea, it usually correspond to the outer extent of the contiguous zone, the area in which “State may exercise the control necessary to prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws” (UNCLOS, art. 33). Data source: interviews with border police officials.
Coastal radars
Approximate radar beam range covered by coastal radars operating in the frame of national marine traffic monitoring systems. The actual beam depends from several different parameters (including the type of object to be detected). Data source: Finmeccanica.
Exclusive Economic Zone
Maritime area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea in which the coastal state exercises sovereign rights for the purposes of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, the seabed and its subsoil and the superjacent waters. Its breadth is 200 nautical miles from the straight baselines from which the territorial sea is measured (UNCLOS, Arts. 55, 56 and 57). Data source: Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Atlas of the European Seas and Oceans
Frontex operations
Frontex has, in the past few years, carried out several sea operations at the maritime borders of the EU. The blue shapes indicate the approximate extend of these operations. Data source: Migreurop Altas.
Mobile phone coverage
Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network coverage. Data source: Collins Mobile Coverage.
Oil and gas platforms
Oil and gas platforms in the Mediterranean. Data source:
Search and Rescue Zone
An area of defined dimensions within which a given state is has the responsibility to co-ordinate Search and Rescue operations, i.e. the search for, and provision of aid to, persons, ships or other craft which are, or are feared to be, in distress or imminent danger. Data source: IMO availability of search and rescue (SAR) services - SAR.8/Circ.3, 17 June 2011.
Territorial Waters
A belt of sea (usually extending up to 12 nautical miles) upon which the sovereignty of a coastal State extends (UNCLOS, Art. 2). Data source: Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Atlas of the European Seas and Oceans