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Group of 63 rescued migrants to be brought to Malta
Group of migrants rescued in Malta’s SAR zone expected to arrive this afternoon
17 July 2020, 1:35pm
Karl Azzopardi
Karl Azzopardi
1 min read
The group of 63 migrants were rescued after the boat they were on started taking on water (Photo: Alarm Phone)
A group of 63 migrants rescued from a sinking boat in Malta’s search and rescue zone are being brought to Malta.
The migrants had on Thursday contacted humanitarian NGO Alarm Phone requesting assistance.
The NGO said on Twitter the people on board were panicking, with water entering the boat and strong winds forming waves up to two metres high.
🆘 ~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! pic.twitter.com/em3nmqwgzV
— Alarm Phone (@alarm_phone) July 16, 2020
Alarm Phone tweeted yesterday that Malta was not responding to distress calls.
“We are dying, we are dying! Nobody is helping us, there is just sea! Please help, help, help!" the migrants reportedly told the NGO.
The migrants were also spotted by NGO Sea Watch’s Moonbird reconnaissance aircraft in Malta’s SAR zone.
On Friday, Sea Watch said it had lost contact with those onboard, and that it was receiving no response from Maltese authorities.
An AFM spokesperson later told the press that the migrants were due to arrive in Malta at 2pm.
Europe has abandoned ~65 people in distress at sea for 26 hours. All coastguards refused responsibility to rescue. There are ~20 minors on board. Their families call us & ask why Europe ignores their sons, brothers & sisters. What if these were white children? #BlackLivesMatter
— Alarm Phone (@alarm_phone) July 17, 2020
Karl Azzopardi is Online Editor and an IGM press awards (Human Stories) winner of 2019
