Rome (EFE)
The search operations for the missing are being carried out with the help of merchant ships and with two Frontex planes, the European agency for border control.
Alarm Phone, a network of activists who receive calls from barges that are in danger in the Central Mediterranean, had denounced the sinking of the barge and had accused the Italian authorities of not intervening despite having reported its presence. Already on Saturday night.
According to the reconstruction of the Italian Coast Guard, the boat was in the SAR (search and rescue) zone of Libya but “recorded the inactivity of the other National Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centers involved by area” in reference to Libya and Malta.
The merchant “Basilis L” reported that the ship was in sight, adrift, and that it was having difficulties rescuing them due to the bad weather conditions in the area.
For their part, the Libyan authorities, responsible for search and rescue activities in that area, requested the support, as required by international conventions on maritime rescue, from the National Maritime Rescue Coordination Center of Rome which, at the request of the Libyan authorities, immediately sent an emergency message via satellite to all ships in transit.
The recording of the shipwreck
This new shipwreck occurs after the tragedy off the coast of Cutro, in Calabria (southern Italy) in which at least 79 migrants died and for which an investigation has been opened to clarify the possible responsibilities of the Italian Coast Guard .
The ship that sank today had been identified off the coast of Libya and Alarm Phone explained that the Italian authorities had given instructions to the merchant ships present in the area, but that they limited themselves to observing for 24 hours, as stated in a Video taken by the “Seabird2” plane of the NGO Sea Watch.
The video shows the ship in great difficulty due to strong waves and merchant ships trying to protect it from the waves but unable to intervene.
In the last five days, nearly 4,000 migrants have reached the Italian shores and the Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, in a radio interview stated that “the situation is worrying, Europe must take notice”.
Since the beginning of 2023, 17,592 migrants have arrived on the Italian shores, triple that of the same period last year (5,976).