Malta, in two rescue operations, Emergency’s Life Support rescued and brought 65 people to safety

MILANO – The Life Support Of EMERGENCY carried out a second rescue in the late afternoon yesterday, Friday 9 August, after the first rescue carried out during the night between 8 and 9 August, bringing to safety another 28 shipwrecked people in international waters of the Maltese SAR zone, in the central Mediterranean. In the two operations, a total of 65 people were rescued and brought to safety on board. The report of the second case of a vessel in difficulty arrived yesterday, Friday 9 August, around 10 in the morning and the Life Supportwhich had already been assigned Ortona as a port of disembarkation by the Italian MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Center), immediately requested to be able to change course to reach the new reported case. The authorities granted permission to delay the arrival at the assigned port.

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That overcrowded dinghy in the middle of the sea. The vessel, an overcrowded dinghy, unsuitable for crossing the Mediterranean, was identified by the command bridge of the Life Support at approximately 19:45 on Friday 9 August. The rescue operations then began, which ended at 20:40 with the transfer of all shipwrecked people to safety on board. “Both cases had been reported by Alarm Phone – explains Anabel Montes Mier, head of mission of the Life Support -. The first rescue operation was carried out during the night: a fiberglass boat with 37 people on board, including an unaccompanied minor. Once the operation was completed, we received the indication of Ortona as the port of disembarkation from the Italian authorities. After receiving a second report of a boat in distress, we contacted the authorities again, who granted us permission to delay the arrival at the assigned port. We then went towards the second case of a boat in distress and managed to find it after 10 hours of searching.”

There was also an unaccompanied 3-year-old child. The shipwrecked rescued in the second intervention of the day are 28, including one woman, three accompanied minors including a three-year-old child, and six unaccompanied minors – they come from Syria and Egypt, countries affected by war, violence, economic and political precariousness. Similar problems are also found in Eritrea and Bangladesh, from where, in addition to Syria and Egypt, the 37 people rescued in the first intervention yesterday fled.

Everyone was very tired from the navigation. “They were all very tired from three days of sailing,” says Sauro Forni, a nurse on board and head of clinical activities for Life Support. “One boy had clear signs of dehydration, many people had sunburns and chemical burns from a mixture of fuel and sea water. The child is fine, he is lively and wants to play. We will continue to monitor everyone’s health conditions.” After completing the rescue and informing the competent authorities, Life Support was confirmed as the pos (place of safety) of Ortona as the port of disembarkation, where they are expected to arrive on August 13.

The balance of the rescues. Active in the Central Mediterranean since December 2022, the EMERGENCY ship is carrying out its 23rd search and rescue mission. To date, it has saved a total of 1,962 people.