In the midst of a major increase in the number of migrant boats traversing the Mediterranean from North Africa, support service Alert Phone reported that a boat with over 400 people was drifting between Malta and Libya, and taking in water.
On Twitter, Alarm Phone claimed to have received a call from the boat that left Tobruk last night, and contacted the appropriate authorities. No rescue efforts have reportedly been organised to date.
Those on board were “terrified, and several of them needed medical help,” according to Alarm Phone. In addition, the “skipper had left and no one was left to guide the boat, which was out of gasoline and had a full bottom deck.” Authorities in Malta could not be reached right away.
On Sunday, the German Charity, Sea-Watch International posted on Twitter that it was searching for vessels in trouble in the Mediterranean sea, including the one alerted by Alarm Phone.
At least 23 migrants perished in a separate shipwreck in the Mediterranean the night before, according to another German NGO, Resqship on Sunday.
During the rescue effort, they discovered 25 bodies in the water, and were able to save 22 people, as well as recover two bodies, they tweeted. Resqship stated that their crew had been informed that 20 or so others had already drowned.
Last week, 440 migrants were rescued off Malta, after a complex 11-hour operation in stormy seas by the Geo Barents vessel of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) NGO. At least 23 African migrants were missing, and four died on Saturday after their two boats sank off Tunisia, while attempting to reach Italy.
Libya has been in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The county has for years been split between rival administrations, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.
The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December 2021, and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba, who is leading the transitional government, to step down. In response, the country’s eastern-based Parliament appointed a rival Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.
