LIFE SUPPORT

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Latest news

21 migrants rescued off Libya

In the morning of Nov 21, the 'Life Support' rescued 21 migrants in international waters in the Libyan SAR area. A boat in difficulty was identified directly by the crew. The castaways were on board a small dinghy. They had set off from Zawiya in Libya at 5 a.m. The people came from Gambia, Syria and Congo. One unaccompanied minor was also pm bpard. After having concluded the rescue and having communicated the rescue operations to the authorities, the 'Life Support' was assigned the port of Marina di Carrara for the disembarkation with an ETA as of Nov 23 amid weather conditions that were worsening.

118 migrants rescued in Maltese SAR zone

The 'Life Support' has saved 118 migrants in the Maltese SAR area in the early morning of Nov 9 during two different operations. The two boats could have capsized at any moment, and none of the people aboard were wearing life jackets. Both boats in difficulty had left Benghazi in Libya, four and three days ago respectively, and the supplies of water and food on board were almost finished. The first one, a wooden boat of about 10 meters length, carrying 77 people, had almost run out of fuel and had started to take on water, also due to the difficult weather conditions and overloading. The second boat, made of fiberglass and very small with 41 people on board, had several cracks, creaked and took on water with every wave that hit it. The first operation took place after Alarm Phone reported the coordinates of the vessel and the conditions it was in. The second distress was reported by the Italian MRCC and by some commercial ships that had sighted the vessel in the morning at dawn. After waiting for authorization from the competent authorities, Life Support immediately undertook rescue operations. The adverse weather conditions made the operations very complex. During the second rescue, there were about three meters wave heighs. The first rescue ended at 3.30 a.m. with 77 shipwrecked people on board, while the second ended around 8.30 a.m. with the rescue of 41 people. Among the castaways there were four unaccompanied minors, including a girl. The castaways came from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Syria, Egypt and Palestine. Once the operations were concluded, the Italian MRCC assigned the port of Brindisi as safe port. Medical staff, logisticians and cultural mediators were taking care of the castaways. Brindisi was approximately 46 hours of navigation from the ship's last position. The vessel was facing rough seas due to adverse weather forecasts. Report with photos: https://www.fanpage.it/attualita/la-nave-di-emergency-salva-118-migranti-in-zona-sar-maltese-dovranno-navigare-fino-a-brindisi/

68 migrants underway to Lovorno

Two more rescues of on the whole 48 people were carried out in the morning of Oct 8 by the 'Life Support' after the rescue of 21 people on Oct 7, which were concluded at 9 a.m. In total, in the three operations, 69 people have been rescued, with the last concerning a wooden boat without engine, which had 21 people on board and was adrift in international waters, in the Maltese SAR zone. It had left Zwara (Libya) on Oct 6 at 8 p.m. and a boat with 27 shipwrecked people who had left Sfax (Tunisia) the previous evening on a boat that was taking on water. The SAR operations were coordinated by the MRCC in Rome, which supported the rescues. Of the 48 castaways rescued on Oct 8, four were women and 12 unaccompanied minors. They came from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan and Tunisia, countries affected by war, political instability, economic crisis and environmental disasters The 'Life Support' headed towards the assigned port, Livorno, with an ETA as of Oct 10, while remaining available to the authorities for further assistance.