Thread by @alarm_phone

An Invisible Shipwreck?

#AlarmPhone demands answers for the families of 91 missing people. Here the email we sent to RCC #Malta, MRCC #Italy, authorities in #Libya, #Frontex, as well as #UNHCR and #IOM.
alarmphone.org/en/2020/02/19/…

Have 91 people gone missing without a trace?
#AlarmPhone fears a mass shipwreck occurred off the coast of #Libya on 9 February 2020. Requests for information have been made to relevant authorities in #Libya, #Malta, #Italy, and to #EU border agency Frontex – without any reaction.

On Feb 9, we received a call from a black rubber boat with about 91 people in distress who had left from Garabulli. Due to the severity of the situation we alerted all authorities immediately, including the so-called Libyan CG, RCC Malta & MRCC Italy between 4.09-4.24h CET.

We lost contact to the boat after 05.35h CET. In our final phone call, the people on board were panicking. They said the engine had stopped working, water was entering their boat & people had already fallen into the sea. At that time, their position was: N33°09', E013°49'.

There are indications that a shipwreck occurred. This case does not match any of the boats rescued or intercepted around that time. Acc. to Malta, a Frontex aerial asset spotted a deflated boat at the last position of the boat in distress reported by us.

We believe this deflated rubber boat is the boat we had informed authorities of. What happened to its passengers? The authorities we approached for information are not reacting to our request for information. @Armed_Forces_MT, @guardiacostiera, @Frontex - what do you know?

@Armed_Forces_MT @guardiacostiera @Frontex #AlarmPhone has been contacted by relatives & friends of people who departed from #Libya on February 9 but have not heard from them since. The families & friends of the missing need to know about the fate of their loved ones! We urge all authorities to investigate their fate.