A passenger on a rubber boat adrift in the Mediterranean Sea called a rescue hotline on June 23 to plead for help. The boat – carrying 14 migrants from the Middle East and Africa – was out of fuel in choppy waters. And a male passenger had just drowned.
The craft was about 70 nautical miles off the coast of Malta, within the small island country’s search and rescue zone, according to position data recorded by Alarm Phone, the hotline operator. Within these zones, countries are obligated under international law to coordinate search and rescue operations.
The incident is a recent example of Malta’s practice of declining to rescue vessels carrying migrants bound for Europe, according to humanitarian groups and non-governmental organisations operating in the region. The case was particularly troubling, international law experts say, because of the Maltese armed forces’ alleged refusal to aid the passengers.
“Search and Rescue operations are coordinated in accordance with the applicable international conventions, regulations and through the competent authority,” spokesperson Sabrina Borg wrote in an email to Reuters. “As with all cases, the competent authorities exercise the duty of care.” “It is not acceptable that thousands of people continue risking their lives, trying to reach the EU, while smugglers continue profiting from the hopes and misery of migrants,” he said.Thirty-nine hours after the first distress call, MSF rescued the three teenagers, two women and eight men who remained on the boat. The aid group collected testimonies from three survivors and shared them with Reuters.
At 12:46 p.m., Alarm Phone called the Malta Search and Rescue Coordination Centre to report that one person was in the water. The boat was 74 nautical miles southeast of Malta, position data show, and within the country’s search and rescue zone. “It’s like calling 911, and the emergency hotline is not responding,” said Kulikowski, the Sea-Watch spokesperson.
Malta has denied engaging in pushbacks, which the European Court of Human Rights has declared illegal under international law.
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