🆘 ~65 people in distress in Malta SAR! A boat with ~65 people escaping the Libyan hell & torture camps called #AlarmPhone this morning. They are in #Malta Search & Rescue zone & their engine is not working. They said a woman has fainted & they all need urgent rescue!
We alerted authorities but #Malta is not answering the phone. The people have been at sea for more than 24 hours. @Armed_Forces_MT it‘s your duty to rescue them as quickly as possible & to bring them to Europe! A wooden boat can capsize at any moment & delays risk people’s lives.
The people on board are panicking! They said that water is entering the boat. In the area waves are up to 2 metres high and there are strong winds. Rescue should not be delayed, but #Malta is still not responding to the distress calls. #DontLetThemDrown #BlackLivesMatter
We are still in contact with the people in distress: "We are dying, we are dying! Nobody is helping us, there is just sea! Please help help help!" they scream on the phone, in panic. @Armed_Forces_MT and @guardiacostiera do not let ~65 people drown! Rescue them now!
The situation on board is critical! Since Malta & Italy fail to respond though the boat is in Malta SAR, we alerted Tunisian authorities. They say that the boat is in #Malta SAR and that they do not have any available rescue assets. Will all authorities knowingly let them drown?
The people in distress were spotted by #Moonbird of @seawatchcrew. They are clearly in Malta SAR & need help. They told us that they were able to reignite their engine but fear that it will break down again. They have no drinking water left. Authorities remain unresponsive.
This is the image that #Moonbird took of the boat in distress. People on board have no life vests on and can only slowly move on. RCC Malta and MRCC Rome continue to fail to respond to our requests to conduct a SAR operation.
Our last contact to the boat was at 21.00h. The people were in distress and exhausted, urging us to send their GPS positions to the rescuers. We have been sending their positions to European authorities for more than 16 hours now and we received no response. #DontLetThemDrown
Mothers, brothers, sisters & friends of the people in distress call us worried, asking us why #Malta and #Italy refuse to rescue their loved ones. They show us the #UNHCR cards of the people in distress & ask us 'where are their human rights'? #Europe, what shall we answer?
WHERE ARE THEY?
We lost contact to the ~65 people 12 hours ago. The situation on board was tense, people were exhausted & dehydrated, the boat was drifting. Meanwhile #Malta and #Italy keep silent, we alerted them 24h ago.
#DontLetThemDrown
Finally, we can confirm that the people in distress were rescued to Malta. We had to learn about their rescue through the media as RCC Malta still refuses to give out any info. Thanks to all who mobilised & pressurised the authorities - without you rescue wouldn't have occurred!
We are so relieved that they survived and that we can inform their loved ones that they are safe.
Thanks also to #Moonbird who went out to find the boat in distress!
timesofmalta.com/articles/view/…
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