This factsheet outlines a summary of the distress cases the Sea-Watch Airborne operations witnessed April to June 2024 by Airborne with Seabird 1 and Seabird 2.
In April to June we conducted 35 operations, with a total flight time of 213 hours and 42 minutes. We spotted approximately 1,878 persons in distress aboard 43 different boats.
1. Overview of boats in distress and empty boats spotted
Maltese Search and Rescue (SAR) zone
- 85 persons, on board 1 boat in distress, were intercepted bythe so-called Libyan Coast Guard and pulled back to Libya
- 260 persons, on board 7 boats in distress, were rescued by theItalian authorities and disembarked in Italy
- 91 persons, on board 2 boats in distress, were rescued by theNGO vessels Aurora and Geo Barents,2 and disembarked inItaly
- The outcomes for 233 persons, onboard 7 boats in distress, remain uncertain
Libyan Search and Rescue (SAR) zone
- 527 persons, on board 11 boats in distress, were intercepted bythe so-called Libyan Coast Guard and pulled back to Libya
- 114 persons, on board 3 boats in distress, were rescued by theItalian authorities and disembarked in Italy
- 193 persons, on board 4 boats in distress, were rescued by theNGO vessels Ocean Viking and Humanity 1,3 and disembarkedin Italy
- 60 persons, on board 1 boat in distress, were intercepted bythe merchant vessel Maridive Zohr 1, illegally handed over tothe so-called Libyan Coast Guard and pulled back to Libya
- The outcomes for 315 persons, on board 7 boats in distress, remain uncertain
From April – June, we must assume that the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex was involved in the narratives for
at least 547 persons, on board 12 boats sighted by Seabird 1 and Seabird 2. Of these, 4 boats, with 122 persons, were rescued by the Italian authorities. The outcomes for 2 boats in distress, carry- ing around 105 persons, remain unknown. Of these, 6 boats, with around 320 persons, were intercepted and pulled back to Libya by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard.
From April – June, we sighted 59 empty boats. The outcomes for these boats remain unknown.
2. Details and outcome of the distress cases
For more information download the full report.
3. These events highlight once again
- the deadly consequences of European migration policies
- the systematic non-assistance of European Member States and the delegation of rescue operations to the so-called Libyan Coast Guard
- the systematic non-assistance of European Member States in their areas of competence
- the participation of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex in the interceptions and pull- backs undertaken by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard
- the unjustified and systematic delays of European Member States to take action and save lives in their Search-and-Rescue (SAR) zones
- the need for NGO vessels in the Central Mediterrane- an in order to uphold the law and save human lives
