During yesterday’s reconnaissance flights over the Central Mediterranean, the crew of Sea-Watch’s aircraft Seabird 1 discovered the bodies of five people floating in international waters off the Libyan coast.
While searching for more bodies, an armed Libyan militia with an Italy-financed patrol vessel was present close to one of the dead bodies but refused to respond to any of the aircrew’s radio calls. To the best of Sea-Watch’s knowledge, the bodies have not been recovered. The circumstances of death and the identities of the deceased remain unknown. It is likely that the deceased were victims of an undetected shipwreck. Sea-Watch fears there may be more bodies in the area.
Sea-Watch Demands Immediate Action
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Recovery and Identification of the Dead The EU must urgently launch a comprehensive search and recovery operation to retrieve and identify the deceased, and to notify their families.
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State-Led Sea Rescue Mission The European Union must finally take responsibility and establish an effective, state-led sea rescue mission in the Mediterranean. Instead of letting NGOs fill the gap left by the authorities and even hindering them from saving lives at sea. Currently, NGO rescue vessels Nadir and Sea-Eye 5 are detained by Italian authorities.
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Safe and Legal Escape Routes As long as people are forced to take deadly routes, they will continue to die at Europe’s borders. Sea-Watch calls on the EU to establish safe and legal pathways for those seeking protection.
“The Mediterranean continues to be a politically willed mass grave. Any hope for the five people we found is gone. But we demand justice and safety for all those people who are still on their way to Europe — and an EU policy that prevents more deaths,” says Paul Wagner, Sea-Watch Spokesperson.
Context
In recent weeks, more and more dead bodies of migrants have washed ashore across the Mediterranean, including on the Balearic Islands. Yesterday’s discovery again illustrates the deadly consequences of EU border policies and the deadly violence of Libyan militias.
