SEA-EYE 4 brings 105 people to safety in Naples
Sea rescuers mourn and grieve the death of three people.
On 06.02.2023 the SEA-EYE 4 reached the port of Naples with 105 rescued persons as well as two dead bodies on board. There, all 105 survivors were able to safely go ashore, and the deceased were also taken off the ship.
It was a difficult mission with a total of three deaths! During the night from Thursday to Friday, the crew of SEA-EYE 4 conducted two rescue missions. Two people could only be recovered dead. Another person died after an emergency evacuation on Sunday in a hospital on shore. Earlier, another person had to be evacuated from aboard the SEA-EYE 4 and continues to be treated in a hospital. Among the dead is a young mother whose baby is among the survivors.
Italian authorities prolonged the suffering of the survivors by assigning the rescue ship to the port of Naples, more than 480 km away. Previously, the Italian authorities had even named the port of Pesaro, 1000 km away. For the SEA-EYE 4, a Sicilian port would have been much quicker to reach and people would have had much faster access to the medical care they needed.
The SEA-EYE 4 is currently still in the port of Naples, from where it will make its way to Burriana at the earliest opportunity. There, the ship will go into the shipyard for routine maintenance work.
“It is cynical to speak of a concession in the allocation of the port of Naples just because the initially allocated port of Pesaro was even further away. The southern Sicilian ports could have been reached much earlier. The Italian government must stop making the work of sea rescue organizations more difficult and thus also prolonging the suffering of people seeking protection. All available government and civil resources must be used to prevent as many deaths as possible. It is an ongoing crime against humanity,” said Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye e.V.
“Overall, it was the most dramatic experience I have had at sea. Especially the people in the first rescue were in extremely poor health when they arrived on board with us. They had spent six days on the boat without food, without drinking water. Two bodies were brought on board. It was very upsetting for everyone,“ says mission doctor Dr. Angelika Leist of German Doctors e.V.
