At 14.30 CEST a boat in distress in Malta SAR zone contacted us. On board there are 60 people, including 2 women - 1 of them is pregnant. They left #Libya, yesterday afternoon. Water is entering the boat & they ask for urgent help. We informed authorities in #Malta and #Italy.
At 16:16h, the people on board called us again. They say the situation is critical. We informed RCC Malta again. They refused to confirm whether a SAR operation has been launched or not. We demand immediate action!
By tomorrow morning a strong perturbation will affect the area with 40 km/h winds and waves higher than 2 meters. The people on board need to be rescued before sunset. Authorities in #Malta were already alerted several times. Act now, before it is too late! #safepassage
Considering the weather conditions & the past delays in rescue operations by Malta, we worry that they might spend another night out at sea. This could result in a tragedy. The boat is a few nm from Italian SAR. #Italy is informed and could reach the boat more quickly than #Malta
Despite problems with the engine, the boat almost reached the coast of #Lampedusa by itself. The Italian coastguard just confirmed that the 61 people were rescued. Welcome to Europe!
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