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Airborne Quarterly Factsheet April – June 2024

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…

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Sea-Watch 5 rescued 156 people

On 26 July 2024, our crew on the Sea-Watch 5 rescued 156 people from two wooden boats. With Seabird, we supported the first rescue from the air. There were people below deck in both boats, where exhaust fumes and a lack of oxygen posed an acute danger to life. Several people had to be treated…

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Aurora and Trotamar III rescue 122 people

20.07.2024 In a joint rescue operation with the sailing ship Trotamar III, our Aurora crew rescued 122 people in distress at sea on Saturday morning. We spotted the people in distress on an unseaworthy double-deck wooden boat without water, food, or life jackets from our Seabird aircraft and informed the authorities. Shortly after the…

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Ignored mayday relay leads to illegal pullback

July 22, 2024 On Monday, we witnessed again an illegal interception of about 70 people, preceded by the repeated ignoring of the mayday relays.   About 70 people tried to flee Libya in hopes of reaching Europe. We knew about their possible position and called the nearby merchant vessel MARIDIVE 703, asking whether the crew…

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