A boat carrying about 400 migrants is adrift in the Mediterranean Sea in a shared rescue zone between Malta and Italy. That’s what the two NGOs say. The Italian Coast Guard is now on its way for a rescue.
The NGO Alarm Phone, a volunteer collective that runs an emergency line for migrants in trouble, and the German rescue organization Sea-Watch reported on Sunday that they had spotted the overloaded boat with about 400 migrants. Sea-Watch also shared images on Twitter that it was able to capture from a reconnaissance aircraft.
According to Alarm Phone, the migrants who departed from Libya faced strong winds and high waves while running out of fuel. “The captain has left, and there is no one to steer the boat,” the organization said on Sunday. “Several people need medical care, including a child, a pregnant woman and a person with a disability.”
Sea-Watch denounced Monday that the authorities of Malta did not act when the boat was in their rescue area. On Monday morning, the boat would have already received fuel and water from a commercial ship, which, according to the Malta NGO, had been instructed not to rescue the migrants.
Meanwhile, the boat is in the Italian rescue area. Around noon, both Alarm Phone and Sea-Watch announced that the Italian coast guard would have sent a ship. The German NGO accuses Malta of “unconscionable negligence”.
