As of: March 15, 2024, 3:26 p.m
By: Moritz Bletzinger
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They drifted helplessly on the Mediterranean for days, and no one heeded the distress call.
A rescue team finally finds 25 survivors who have suffered terrible things.
Ancona – burns from the mercilessly scorching sun.
Hunger.
Thirst.
Around 80 people suffered for days in the Mediterranean, floating on a rubber dinghy that was unable to maneuver.
At least 60 of them did not survive the ordeal.
Bad incident in the Mediterranean: 60 people die on a rubber dinghy - many children on board
“The survivors had set off from Zawiya (Lybia, dR) seven days before the rescue.
Their engine broke down after three days, leaving their boat adrift for days without water or food,” writes SOS Mediteranée after the rescue operation on March 13th.
The Ocean Viking team evacuated 25 people from the inflatable boat, all of whom were in “dire physical and psychological condition.”
By chance, the Ocean Viking spotted the dinghy in the Mediterranean: the team rescued 25 people.
© Johanna de Tessières/SOS Mediteranée
Among the survivors were twelve unaccompanied minors, SOS Mediteranée specified at the request of
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
There were also two unconscious people on board who could not be revived by the rescue team.
In collaboration with the Italian Coast Guard, a rescue helicopter took her to a hospital in Sicily.
Around 60 people died on the journey, including women and at least one child, those rescued reported to the NGO.
Italian media speak of five dead children.
“SOS went unheeded”: Dinghy in distress in Italy – people were still screaming for help
Could the rescue have taken place much earlier?
Allegedly.
Because: “The SOS went unheeded,” writes the newspaper
La Repubblica
and
La Stampa
reports that no one responded to the SOS call from the emergency call center “Alarm Phone”.
Several days earlier, the NGO reported a dinghy with 75 people on board calling for help.
SOS Mediteranée cannot confirm with certainty whether it was actually the same boat.
However, the time and place match.
And also statements from those who were rescued.
“Survivors saw a helicopter twice and tried to draw its attention to them,” said a spokeswoman.
Outcry after boat accident in Italy: emergency call probably ignored - and after rescue comes next torture
There is great outrage in Italy.
“It is unacceptable for a damaged ship to remain at sea for a week without anyone noticing,” warns SOS Mediteranée general director Valerie Taurino.
The conditions on the Mediterranean are sometimes scandalous; just last summer, 100 children were found in the hold of a ship that had an accident off Greece.
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Ultimately, the rescue reached the dinghy purely by chance.
The Sea World II aircraft had relayed the position of another helpless ship to the Ocean Viking.
On the way there, the crew spotted the boat with 25 survivors from the bridge.
Then continue with them on board to the original mission.
The Ocean Viking rescued another 224 people there.
Long journey after rescue: SOS Mediteranée warns that “the journey of 1,450 km risks deteriorating the condition of the survivors.” © Johanne de Tessières/SOS Mediteranée
However, the ordeal for the survivors did not end with the arrival of the rescue team.
The rescue ship has to go to the port city of Ancona, far in the north of Italy.
It is not allowed to dock at other ports.
“The port is 1,450 kilometers away, which means a further burden for those rescued,” says SOS Mediteranée.
It is said that the Italian Interior Ministry has not responded to the request to allocate a closer port.
“It is not appropriate for the ship to undertake such a long journey after such a tragedy – a terrible event,” UNHCR spokesman Filippo Ungaro told
La Stampa
.
Sea rescue organizations are currently suing Italy because of this practice of distant ports.
(moe)