Latest information:

All 178 survivors on board the Humanity 1 have now been safely disembarked in the Italian port of Bari.

Last update: 09 July, 14:00 CEST

Rescue operations

5
transhipment

1
Survivors

583
Dead person

1
Witnessed pull-backs

3
Medical evacuations

2

Spotted! Our crew found all five boats during the lookout.
The boats were heavily overcrowded, unseaworthy and had no rescue or navigation equipment. Water was already entering one of them when the crew reached the boat
Medical situation: The survivors were very exhausted, but most of them were in a stable state of health. Two people had to be evacuated for medical reasons. One person could only be rescued dead.
As a port of safety for the disembarkation of the survivors of the first two rescues, the authorities assigned Ortona. The people from the third rescue were taken to Lampedusa by the Italian Coast Guard. The Humanity 1 had to go to Bari to disembark the survivors of the last two rescues.

Search and Rescue Operations

Karte vom Zentralen Mittelmeer mit den Einsatzdaten der Humanity 1

Details:

Notification of distress case: spotted from lookout with binoculars

Location: international waters off Libya, 94 kilometres North of Tripolis

Condition of boat: unseaworthy, overcrowded, no lifejackets, no life-saving equipment

Number of people: 31

Medical condition: people are exhausted but in a good condition. They spent one night at sea.

Weather conditions: calm, almost no wind, <0,5m waves
Notification of Distress Case: spotted by our lookout, distress case confirmed by SeaBird

Location: international waters, 124 kilometers off the Libyan coast

Condition of boat: Overcrowded and unseaworthy wooden boat, significantly listing to portside, no lifejackets, no lifesaving equipment

Number of people: 75

Medical condition: exhausted

Weather conditions: very calm, almost no wind or waves, just very hot and sunny
The Italian rescue coordination centre requests the Humanity 1 to search for another boat in distress. But before the Humanity 1 can reach the boat, the refugees are illegally pushed back to Libya by a Libyan patrol boat, as the civilian aircraft Seabird had to witness. Information about the intercepted boat had previously been passed on by the border protection agency Frontex, which led to this further violation of international law.
In the late afternoon, the Italian Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) delays the coordination of the search and rescue of another boat in distress by an hour and a half. This gave the so-called Libyan Coast Guard enough time for an illegal pull-back of the 18 people on board. The patrol boat of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard (Corrubia Class 662) that carries out the pull-back was supplied by Italy.
Late in the evening, the MRCC Rome commissions Humanity 1 to search for another boat in distress. It was a rubber boat with around 60 people on board. Once again, the so-called Libyan Coast Guard was on the scene and instructed us not to rescue it. The Italian rescue coordination centre asked us to follow their instructions. This means that our crew has to watch another pull-back.
Notification of Distress Case: mayday relay by military aircraft RESCIMA

Location: first indication in Maltese SRR (220km SE of Sicily), rescue & transshipment in IT SRR (74km E of Sicily)

Condition of boat: big fishing trawler, approx. 20m long, adrift, overcrowded, no life saving equipment

Number of people: 186 survivors + 1 dead body

Medical condition: 4 medical cases, 3 of which need hospitalisation, 2 of which urgently upon disembarkation

Weather conditions: calm, 0.5 meter waves
Notification of Distress Case: spotted from bridge and the top deck

Location: Libyan search and rescue region, 46 km of Sabratah

Condition of boat: overcrowded, unseaworthy, no lifesaving equipment, one boat was already taking water

Number of people: 291 in total (first boat 111, second boat 102, third boat 78)

Weather conditions: 1 meter swell
The 111 survivors from the first rescue on 05.07.2024 were taken from Humanity 1 to Lampedusa this morning by an Italian Coast Guard vessel.

Firstly, a boy with severe abdominal pain and his six family members were emergency evacuated and taken directly from Lampedusa to a hospital in Sicily. Subsequently, the other 104 survivors were brought to Lampedusa.

With 180 remaining survivors on board, the crew of our rescue ship has to proceed with the now three and a half days of transit to Bari.
Another survivor had to be evacuated today for medical reasons. The unaccompanied minor has a high fever and low blood pressure. After our crew informed the Italian authorities, they sent a ship to take the person to a hospital. It was only at the insistence of our crew that another person was allowed to disembark so that the two unaccompanied minors, who are friends, were not separated.