European Organisation for the Rescue of Lives at Sea. Updates from our Search and Rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean #OceanViking #TogetherForRescue
Central Mediterranean
Joined April 2018
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Help us keep our eyes in the sky. 🛫
Support the Albatross mission today: sosmediterranee.org/albatros…
ALT Help us keep our eyes in the sky. Support the Albatross mission. Photo credit: Max Cavallari / SOS MEDITERRANEE
This morning, our monitoring aircraft ALBATROSS spotted a rubber boat carrying ~25 people in distress in international waters within Maltese SRR.
A Libyan Coast Guard vessel intercepted the boat. Our crew tried to contact it, reminding it that it was operating in Maltese SRR.
@MSF_Sea rescue vessel Oyvon approached to stabilise those on board. They were later rescued by an Italian Coast Guard patrol vessel.
On 13 May, the Ocean Viking rescued 56 men from an overcrowded boat in distress. Among them was Teosil, a Bangladeshi man in his mid-forties. Found unresponsive on board, he could not be revived. Clinical findings suggest he died hours before the rescue.
A remote visual identification allowed his family to confirm his identity. On 19 September, four months after he was disembarked, Teosil was repatriated and buried in Bangladesh, where his loved ones could finally lay him to rest.
WHERE ARE THEY? 🚨
20 people have been missing since Sunday. Our aircraft #AlbatrossUNO spotted them, alerted authorities repeatedly with updated coordinates - yet no coordinated search.
Where are they?
The Mediterranean is surveilled to intercept people, not rescue them.
In just two days of aerial monitoring, our crew spotted 5 distress cases in the Mediterranean.
4 of these were successfully rescued thanks to Sea-Watch 5 and the fast asset Aurora.
ALT Camille Martin Juan/SOS MEDITERRANEE
Sea-Watch 5 performed one rescue, and Aurora conducted two rescue operations+ stabilized one more boat in distress until the arrival of the Italian Coast Guard, which eventually rescued the rubber boat.
The coordinated efforts between civilian assets made all the difference.
ALT Camille Martin Juan/SOS MEDITERRANEE
Despite obstruction, criminalisation and intimidation at sea, our rescue vessel #OceanViking has rescued 1,001 people so far this year.
Every rescue is a life saved. Every life matters.
All 99 survivors, including 29 minors and 27 women, have safely disembarked in #Naples. Three days ago, #OceanViking teams rescued 101 people from two rubber boats in distress after days and nights at sea. A pregnant woman was evacuated to Lampedusa, accompanied by her husband.
ALT Lucien Migné/SOSMEDITERRANEE
ALT Lucien Migné/SOSMEDITERRANEE
Among those stepping ashore are very young children with their families and teenagers travelling alone. On board, we heard painful accounts of suffering along their journeys and in Libya. They deserve a welcome that offers protection, care and a chance to feel safe.
ALT Lucien Migné/SOSMEDITERRANEE
ALT Lucien Migné/SOSMEDITERRANEE
🚨1/4 Over 3 days, #AlbatrossUNO, documented an increase in Libyan maritime assets operating in international waters.
Patrol boats, fast RHIBs and unidentified vessels were repeatedly spotted near boats in distress.
ALT Camille Martin Juan / SOS MEDITERRANEE
ALT Camille Martin Juan / SOS MEDITERRANEE
ALT Camille Martin Juan / SOS MEDITERRANEE
3/4 #Frontex aircrafts were present during both interceptions documented by AlbatrossUNO.
Meanwhile, shipwrecks continue, lives are being lost, and these assets are not being used to save people in distress.
4/4 The #Mediterranean is under surveillance.
Surveillance cannot replace search & rescue. Interceptions cannot replace protection.
States must ensure every person in distress is rescued promptly & brought to a place of safety.