SEA-EYE 4 rescues 416 people from distress at sea
So-called Libyan Coast Guard obstructs rescue operations and abducts people back to Libya
The crew of the SEA-EYE 4 rescued 416 people from distress at sea with three missions in two days. Last Monday afternoon, June 13, the rescue ship came to the aid of 63 people, including 30 minors and a baby, when they were in distress in an rubber boat while fleeing across the Mediterranean Sea. Today, Wednesday morning, June 15, the crew arrived at a large, heavily overcrowded wooden boat. Many of the occupants were huddled below deck. The crew evacuated the wooden boat and safely brought all 290 people, including 19 minors, aboard the SEA-EYE 4. On Wednesday afternoon, the crew found another rubber boat and rescued 63 people, including 13 minors.
During the rescue on Wednesday morning, the so-called Libyan Coast Guard was present and observed the rescue operation. When it was completed, the so-called Libyan Coast Guard approached and towed away the wooden boat.
Also on Wednesday morning, the Spanish rescue ship AITA MARI arrived not far from the position of SEA-EYE 4 to a maritime emergency with over 100 people fleeing in an overcrowded rubber boat. However, the operation was disrupted by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard. 17 people who had jumped into the water were rescued by the crew of the AITA MARI. The people who remained on the rubber boat were forced onto their vessel by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and abducted to Libya.
“Today we had to observe once again how dangerously the so-called Libyan Coast Guard acts. Financed by EU states, the so-called Libyan Coast Guard abducts fleeing people to a country of civil war, where they are exposed to the most severe human rights violations. It is well known that there are links between the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and the traffickers. Against the background of all knowledge about the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, it is a crime against humanity to cooperate with such dangerous actors. Therefore, the EU does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, just as these militias don’t deserve the title “coast guard”. Any cooperation with the so-called Libyan Coast Guard must finally be stopped by the European side,” says Gorden Isler, chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.
“On the Mediterranean Sea, in the shadow of the media coverage around the Ukraine war, no less dramatic scenes are taking place. People who jump into the water out of fear of a so-called Coast Guard and risk their lives on the run – politics must finally put an end to this! It is deeply irritating that we as the EU obviously continue to accept the possible death of children, women and men who flee across the Mediterranean from poverty and violence in their countries of origin,” said Harald Kischlat, Board German Doctors e. V.
There are now 416 people on board the SEA-EYE 4 for whom a safe place to disembark is needed. The crew and medical staff are taking care of the people.
