OCTOBER 2022

4 October After the disembarkation of previously rescued people in Lampedusa, Louise Michel rescues another boat in distress carrying 48 people which had previously reached out to Alarm Phone.
8 October The Nadir finds and assists 18 people in distress on a wooden boat and prompts a rescue by the Italian Coast Guard (7).
10 October Alarm Phone receives a distress call from 55 people who had lost their orientation at sea while fleeing Libya. The sailing vessel Imara (R42 sailandrescue) finds the people and stabilizes the boat. 30 hours after the first alert, the Italian Coast Guard finally arrives and brings the people to Lampedusa.
11 October While the Nadir searches for a boat which had previously reached out to Alarm Phone, the sailing vessel assists 11 people in distress who are located by Seabird 3 (Sea-Watch).
12 October After an alert through the Alarm Phone, Colibri 2 is able to support the Geo Barents in rescuing 9 people in distress from a small fiberglass boat (8).
13 October Alarm Phone receives and forwards a distress call from 122 people on a rubber boat off the Libyan coast. With the support of Colibri 2, the Geo Barents is able to get everybody safely on board.
16 October After an alert through Alarm Phone, the Geo Barents rescues 47 people from a small rubber boat off Libya. South of Lampedusa meanwhile, the Nadir finds 65 people in distress, provides medical first aid and assists the boat until the Italian Coast Guard arrives.
17 October Geo Barents rescues 40 people in distress who previously reached out to Alarm Phone.   
18 October Geo Barents conducts another rescue after Alarm Phone forwards an alert about 76 people in distress.
22 October Alarm Phone receives and forwards a distress call from 34 people fleeing Libya. Ocean Viking (SOS Mediteranée), the only vessel nearby, rescues them during the night (9). Seabird 3 also finds 45 people in distress. The US military vessel USNS Kanawha is nearby and waits in the vicinity of the boat until Humanity 1 arrives and takes everyone on board.
23 October Alarm Phone receives a distress call from a group off Libya and alerts authorities and NGOs. With the help of Colibri 2, Ocean Viking is able to take the 39 people safely on board.
24 October Humanity 1 rescues 125 people in distress from two boats. A rubber boat carrying 113 people was located through an Alarm Phone alert, while the other 22 people were spotted by an unidentified vessel which relayed the distress case via radio. Ocean Viking spots 2 boats and is able to rescue all 73 people in distress.
25 October In the morning, Colibri 2 finds 56 people adrift south of Lampedusa. Shortly afterwards, the group also reaches out to the Alarm Phone. During the day, Seabird 3 spots the same boat and forwards information about the distress case. Ocean Viking conducts the rescue during the night. Alarm Phone was alerted by 2 boats traveling together from Tobruk to Sicily. The 1.300 people are rescued by the Italian Coast Guard while Geo Barents and Humanity 1 receive instructions to stay away. Italy performs the largest rescue operation of the last years while simultaneously attempting to close its ports to NGO vessels (10).
26 October With the help of Seabird 3, Ocean Viking rescues 32 people in distress who previously reached out to Alarm Phone.
27 October Geo Barents rescues 268 people from 4 different boats. 3 of these groups previously reached out to Alarm Phone for help. The civil aircraft Seabird 3 and Colibri 2 supported 2 of the rescues from the air.
28 October Geo Barents rescues another 3 boats in distress. 1 had reached out to Alarm Phone before, while the other 2 were spotted by Seabird 3 and Colibri 2. With 572 guests on board, the Geo Barents heads towards Sicily.

ECHOES Issue 3, November 2022