Breaking! A boat with ~50 people fleeing from Libya just reached out to the Alarm Phone! They are in distress in the Italian #SAR zone and only a few miles from #Lampedusa. There is water entering the boat and the weather conditions are very dangerous. They need immediate rescue!
*CORRECTION*: The people in distress reached out again & shared a corrected GPS position: 35d03m, 12d21m (00.45 CEST), which would then show them in #Malta SAR zone. All authorities should search for the boat to rescue & bring the people in distress to a place of safety!
After 00:45h CEST, we lost contact to the people in distress. Authorities in #Malta & #Italy fail to provide information if a rescue has been launched & about the role of cargo vessel Fuji Bay which was on scene for several hours.
The people have to be rescued without delay!
According to the journalist @AngiKappa an unspecified fishing vessel allegedly rescued the ~50 people in distress, under the coordination of #Malta authorities who requested #Italy to disembark the people in the closest port in #Lampedusa.
https://t.co/KgZfavktLa
Several hours have passed and the rescue operation and port of safety remain unconfirmed by Italian and Maltese authorities. We fear that, once more, political games between #EU member states take priority, not the wellbeing of people who escaped a war-torn country.
According to the press, the Maltese-registered fishing vessel #Tremar rescued a boat in distress, but some claim that 50 people were rescued, others mention ~70 people. It has been reported that two people were evacuated this morning due to medical emergency.
Authorities in #Malta & #Italy refuse to provide any information on the fate of the 50 people who reached out to #AlarmPhone 2 days ago.
The fishing vessel #Tremar was involved in the illegal push-back to #Libya that led to the death of 12 people during the Easter weekend.
We demand full transparency on the situation, and that the rescued will be disembarked to a place of safety in #Europe without further delays!
Europe, stop playing with people's lives for your political games!
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.