An NGO has charged that a drifting migrant boat supplied with fuel but no rescue services is adrift in the Mediterranean, withWARNINGS of a possible sinking if not managed.
According to Survival International, the boat, believed to be from Eritrea, was first spotted off the coast of Libya on Saturday morning, and has since been drifting ever westward.
The NGO fears that if the boat were to sink, the more than 230 people on board – most of whom are asylum seekers – would quickly perish.
survivalinternational.org
The NGO, which is making the claims through its newly formed “Migrant Rescue and Relocation Centre” (MRRC) in southern Italy, has so far managed to find only intermittent glimpses of survivors by clanging signals from the boat’s radio.
Last night, as supplies of fuel dwindled and the migrants grew increasingly desperate, the MRRC filed a complaint with the Italian Coast Guard claiming that the Italian navy was not providing them with any assistance.
The NGO also notes that the Italian navy has been notoriously hesitant to intervene in the Mediterranean, preferring to focus on theEPidemic of asylum seekers reaching Europe.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has previously vowed to deploy the country’s “military prosecutor” to take control of the situation if necessary, but has so far been unwilling to provide any formal rescue service.
However, on Sunday, Salvini went so far as to call for the EU to provide a “joint action plan” to ” Rescue and provide shelter for the migrants travelling in to Europe”
This article is about an NGO that has charges that a drifting immigrant boat supplied with fuel but no rescue services is adrift in the Mediterranean and the possible sinking if not managed.
1. “Drifting migrant boat in Mediterranean supplying with fuel but no rescue, NGO says”
According to an NGO, a drifting migrant boat in the Mediterranean is being supplied with fuel but is not being rescued. The situation is precarious because the migrants are in need of rescue and not just fuel. NGOs operate rescue missions in the Mediterranean and have been the subject of dispute and criticism.
The Italian government has tightened its stance on rescue ships in the past few years. They have also closed off their ports to NGO rescue ships. As a result, NGO rescue missions are now funded by mainly by private donors. Despite this setback, NGOs in the Mediterranean continue to supply aid to those in need. Fueling a boat is not enough, and the migrants need to be rescued and brought to safety.
2. “Migrant boat in Mediterranean provides with fuel but no rescues, NGO says”
According to the humanitarian organization Open Arms, a migrant boat in the Mediterranean provided fuel for a rescue vessel but did not assist in rescuing 60 people in distress. The boat, carrying mainly North African migrants, reportedly asked for money in exchange for fuel, pizza, and cigarettes. Open Arms said that they refused to pay the boat and continued their search and rescue operations.
Open Arms alleges that the boat blocking their efforts to save the lives of migrants is yet another example of dangerous maritime practices that human traffickers use in the Mediterranean. The migrants, who were in a state of severe dehydration and fatigue, were eventually rescued by another NGO vessel after their boat went adrift for days.
3. “NONFINES – Drifting migrant boat in Mediterranean supplied with fuel but no rescue, NGO says”
The International Rescue Committee (IRC), an NGO operating in the Mediterranean Sea, reports a concerning incident that took place on May 7. The organization says that a drifting migrant boat was spotted by one of their surveillance planes, which alerted the Libyan coastguard, who sent a boat with fuel to the stranded vessel. However, no rescue operation was launched, causing the passengers to remain adrift with limited resources.
According to the IRC, their aircraft patrolling the Mediterranean spotted the vessel drifting on May 7. The Libyan coastguard responded by reportedly sending fuel to the stranded boat, but no further efforts to rescue the people on-board. The organization says it is calling for a swift response by the maritime authorities, urging them to take urgent action to rescue the vulnerable people who are seeking safety and security. Given the challenges that irregular migrants face, it is essential that effective measures are put in place to respond to incidents such as these in a timely and compassionate manner.
A UN agency has said it has found a migrant boat filled with fuel but no sign of existence or survivors off the Mediterranean coast, raising fears the humanitarian crisis mayLie still for weeks or even months. Moroccan flagged the boat with the intention of flying it back to Morocco but when they realized it was an NGO the owner hired to look after the boat, they offered to fly it back to Europe on their own jet with the fuel. That offer was refused.
Danish NGO CARPATHY said on Thursday despite the boat’s offer to fly them back to Europe with fuel, the owner had not received any help from any neighbouring country or international organization in order to find and save the boat.