A large boat carrying 500 people fleeing from Libya requires immediate rescue as water entered the lower deck, Alarm Phone said
Alarm Phone: 500 people adrift in Malta’s search and rescue area
“The people report that a lot of water entered the lower deck of the drifting boat, forcing them to move to the upper one”, the NGO said on Twitter on Tuesday night.
Although it had alerted the authorities earlier on Tuesday, “So far, no rescue is in sight, and authorities are silent about any efforts to rescue this boat in acute danger”, Alarm Phone said.
🆘~500 persone alla deriva nel #Mediterraneo!
— Alarm Phone (@alarm_phone) May 23, 2023
AlarmPhone è stata allertata da una barca in pericolo. Le persone a bordo riferiscono di essere fuggite dalla #Libia diversi giorni fa e che il motore è in avaria. Le autorità competenti sono state informate. I soccorsi sono urgenti! pic.twitter.com/j9Yhu7BVa0
On Wednesday morning, the NGO said in an update on Twitter that the situation had not changed, urging the authorities “to not further delay rescue efforts”.
Where are they?
Update 17:50 | Alarm Phone said it had lost contact to the 500 people in the morning, adding their last known position was 35 miles within the limits of Malta’s SAR zone.
The Armed Forces Malta have refused to provide information, the NGO said on Twitter on Wednesday evening. “500 people can’t disappear like this!”, it said.
Update Thursday 12:00 | Alarm Phone said on Twitter that there is still no news on the fate of the vessel, and that Malta and Italy have remained silent on what happened to the people.
