On August 11, Sea-Watch 5 rescued two boats in distress with a total of 73 people on board. After rescuing 67 people on the morning of August 11, a pregnant woman’s water broke on the civil rescue ship Sea-Watch 5. Although the woman experienced rare complications that required urgent medical care on land for the survival of her unborn baby, no coastal state initiated a medical evacuation for hours. At just before 7 p.m. CEST, Italy finally carried out the medical evacuation. The previous night, on Monday, another six people were rescued from distress at sea.
Giulia Messmer, spokesperson for Sea-Watch, comments:
Italy and Malta deliberately put the life of a woman and her unborn child at risk for hours. This is a political chess game with human lives. We demand safe passages so that no one has to risk giving birth to their child in the middle of the Mediterranean.
On the morning of August 11, the Sea-Watch crew, in cooperation with the civil aircraft Colibri 2 of the Pilotes Volontaires organization, rescued a boat in distress with 67 people on board. During the rescue, a ship belonging to the so-called Libyan coast guard approached. This Libyan militia operates in the Mediterranean with funding and support from European member states and the border agency Frontex in order to deport fleeing people to Libya illegally. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) recorded more than 21,000 people illegally intercepted in the Mediterranean in 2024 alone and their pullback to Libya, where they face arbitrary detention, slavery, and sexual violence.
After all persons had been safely transferred on board the Sea-Watch 5, a woman who was nine months pregnant went into labor. Initially, it appeared that the birth would be quick, and a medical evacuation was therefore planned in cooperation with the Italian authorities after the birth. However, the pregnant woman’s condition deteriorated dramatically. After a medical assessment on board, it was determined that the woman was experiencing rare complications that made medical care on land essential for the survival of the unborn child. The Sea-Watch 5 submitted the request for urgent medical evacuation at 2:15 p.m. However, it was not until shortly before 7 p.m., after a five-hour wait, that Italy carried out the medical evacuation of the pregnant woman.
The night before, the crew of the Sea-Watch 5 rescued six more people in distress at sea. All of them had fallen overboard and were in the water. Thanks to the rapid response, all those rescued were brought safely aboard the Sea-Watch 5. While the rescue operation was still underway, three unknown individuals refused to be rescued and sailed away on their boat.
The Sea-Watch 5 was assigned Salerno in Southern Italy as a safe harbor by the Italian authorities. Salerno is more than four times as far away as the nearest port of Lampedusa, and a crossing of about three days. The Sea-Watch 5 is now on its way there with 72 people on board.
