This factsheet outlines a summary of distress cases witnessed by Airborne with Moonbird and Seabird.1 In July 2020, we flew 19 missions, for 93 hours 18 minutes. We spotted more than 1.344 persons in distress.
Overview of the distress cases, empty boats and dead bodies spotted
Maltese Search-and-Rescue (SAR) zone
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4 distress cases were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard and disembarked in Italy
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4 distress cases arrived presumably independently in Lampedusa, Italy
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1 distress case was rescued by the merchant vessel Talia, transshipped to a Maltese patrol boat and disembarked in Malta
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2 distress cases were rescued by the Armed Forces of Malta and disembarked in Malta
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1 distress case was rescued by the merchant vessel Cosmo and disembarked in Italy
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1 distress case was intercepted by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and disembarked in Libya
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The outcome of 2 distress cases remains uncertain
- Estimated number of persons in distress: around 818
Libyan Search-and-Rescue (SAR) zone
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1 distress case was intercepted by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and disembarked in Libya
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2 distress cases arrived independently in Lampedusa, Italy
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1 distress case was rescued by the merchant vessel Asso Ventinove and disembarked in Italy
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1 distress case was escorted into the port of Lampedusa by the Italian Coast Guard and the Guardia di Finanza
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Estimated2 number of persons in distress: around 526
These missions highlight once again:
- the deadly consequences of European migration and border policies
- the systematic non-assistance of European Member States and the delegation of rescue operations to the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, even in European SAR zones
- the involvement of merchant vessels in rescue operations due to the lack of a European sea rescue program
- the unjustified and systematic delays by European Member States in fulfilling their obligations to conduct and coordinate sea rescue in their SAR zones
- the need for NGO vessels in the Central Mediterranean in order to uphold the law and save human lives
