Life Support Rescues 158 People in Central Mediterranean

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Before dawn this morning, Life Support, EMERGENCY NGO's search and rescue vessel, rescued 96 people from two boats in distress in international waters in the Libyan SAR zone, during two different rescue operations. A third rescue operation of a further 62 people was carried out later this morning in international waters in the Maltese SAR zone. A total of 158 people were brought to safety on board EMERGENCY's ship, with two people later being evacuated by helicopter due to medical reasons.

In the first two operations, the boats, which were overcrowded and in a precarious condition, were seen from the Life Support's bridge during the night, the first at approximately 3.30am, and the second at approximately 5.00am. During the first rescue, 58 people, including 3 unaccompanied minors, were brought to safety on board Life Support. This group had left Libya on Sunday 25 August from Zuwarah and consisted of people from Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria. During the second operation, Life Support rescued another 38 people, including one woman, one unaccompanied minor and one accompanied minor, who had left at midnight from Al-Zawiyah, Libya, and who come from Syria, Lebanon and Egypt.

At approximately 11.30 a.m., Life Support carried out a third rescue operation, this time in international waters of the Maltese SAR Zone, bringing another 62 people safely on board, including 13 women, 4 unaccompanied and 7 accompanied minors. These 62 people, who left from Al-Zawiyah, Libya, at dawn come from Syria, Bangladesh and the Palestinian territories.

"Before dawn, we carried out two rescue operations of boats in difficulty in international waters of the Libyan SAR zone,"explains Anabel Montes Mier, Life Support's Head of Mission. "In both cases, the boats in difficulty were made of fibreglass, just a few metres long, and the people on board did not have life jackets. At around midday, we carried out a third rescue operation of another small boat unsuitable for the Mediterranean crossing. We requested the medical evacuation of two people who had been poisoned by fuel inhalation. The Italian authorities organised an evacuation by helicopter off Lampedusa, while the Place of Safety we have been assigned is Ancona, which is four days' sailing away."

At the time the third boat was sighted, it was being followed by an unidentified Libyan vessel, which moved away at the time of the rescue without interference.

"During the final operation, the boat in distress was being followed by an unidentified Libyan vessel," explains Jonathan Naní la Terra, SAR Team Leader of Life Support. "As soon as the rescue team approached the boat, the Libyan vessel moved away and did not interfere with the rescue operations. We are now sailing towards the Place of Safety assigned to us in Ancona, where we will arrive on 30 August."

A total of 158 people were rescued in the three operations by Life Support, of whom 14 are women, 8 are unaccompanied minors and 8 are accompanied minors. The countries that these people come from - Bangladesh, Egypt, Lebanon, Nigeria, Syria and the Palestinian territories - are affected by war, violence, and political and economic instability.

"Most of the people rescued are in good health," explains Roberto Maccaroni, an EMERGENCY medic on board," but two people presented with breathing difficulties linked to probable poisoning from fuel inhalation. We monitored them carefully and detected a low level of oxygen saturation in the blood, so we started treatment with liquids and oxygen at high flow rates. Unfortunately, the oxygen saturation level was still below normal, so we asked the authorities for a medical evacuation of both these patients. The evacuation was carried out by a Coast Guard helicopter."

After completing the first two interventions and informing the relevant authorities, Life Support was assigned Ancona as the Place of Safety and port of disembarkation. Following the third rescue, the authorities instructed Life Support to head for Lampedusa for the helicopter medical evacuation to take place.

Operating in the Central Mediterranean since December 2022, Life Support is currently on its 24th search and rescue mission. To date, it has rescued a total of 2,120 people.

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