On Monday night a rubber boat with 106 sub-Saharan migrants was rescued by the Italian Coast Guard, which conducted a dramatic search and rescue operation 120 NM from Lampedusa. 29 people, including three minors, died of hypothermia.
On Sunday, February 8th at 13:00, the Maritime Search and Rescue Authority in Rome received a distress call from migrants on board of a rubber boat 120 NM from Lampedusa (40 NM from Tripoli). The Italian authorities immediately dispatched four patrol boats - two of which were co-financed by Frontex – to rescue the migrants in distress. It also redirected a merchant vessel Bourbon Argos to the position.
The extremely difficult weather conditions – rain, hail and Force 8 Sea (Beaufort scale), with the wind exceeding 120 km/h, made the operation very difficult. The Coast Guard boats finally entered the port of Lampedusa with migrants on board on Monday night around 20:00. One of the vessels suffered engine breakdown due to the severe weather.
“Another terrible tragedy occurred in the Mediterranean. The fact that people smugglers put so many migrants on a small rubber boat in such appalling weather conditions only demonstrates their increasing ruthlessness and willingness to put profit over human lives,” said Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri.
“I would like to praise the courage and determination of the Italian Coast Guard officers who risked their lives to conduct such a complex and risky operation,” he added.
Since the launch of Triton, on November 1st 2014, 19,000 people have been rescued, including 6,000 who were saved using vessels and other equipment financed by Frontex.