Over 1,000 migrants in distress in Central Mediterranean
LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Three boats carrying over 1,000 migrants are in distress in the Central Mediterranean region. This was announced by the international NGO Alarm Phone on twitter asking the relevant authorities to take action immediately to save the migrants. Alarm Phone said that it was alerted by a large boat in distress. The people reported that they fled from Libya several days ago and that their engine has stopped. Alarm Phone informed the authorities and urged them to take action as rescue efforts are needed urgently and without delay”. “The people reported that a lot of water entered the lower deck of the drifting boat, forcing them to move to the upper one. So far, no rescue is in sight, and authorities are silent about any efforts to rescue this boat in acute danger,” said Alarm Phone, adding “the people are asking for immediate rescue. The NGO confirmed this morning that the 500 people survived one more night at sea, however, the situation is still the same with the engine is still not working and the migrants are still adrift. “They continue to urgently call for help,” said Alarm Phone, while asking “how long do they have to wait for rescue?” Alarm Phone urged the authorities to not further delay rescue efforts. Meanwhile, during last night, at about 1am, Alarm Phone was alerted that a second large boat is in distress with about 500 people. They fled from eastern Libya, and are in the shared SAR zone of Malta and Italy. It was confirmed that the authorities were alerted and were asked to take action without delay. One hour before, shortly after last midnight, Alarm Phone was alerted that another boat carrying 27 people was struggling in bad weather conditions in international waters. The authorities were urged to send a rescue mission as soon as they were informed.
foto: agenziafotogramma.it
(ITALPRESS).
Source: medNews