In the Mediterranean, the Italian coast guard conducted an urgent airlift operation to evacuate four critically ill migrants from the rescue ship Sea-Watch 5. The evacuation took place seven hours after a devastating incident where a 17-year-old boy lost his life on board the vessel.
The four men, hailing from Ethiopia and Eritrea, were rescued earlier on the same day from an overcrowded wooden boat in the waters off the coast of Tunisia. Alongside approximately 50 other migrants, they were airlifted by helicopter late Wednesday to the island of Lampedusa.
Despite the efforts of volunteer medical staff on the Sea-Watch 5, the young boy tragically suffered a heart attack and passed away on Wednesday afternoon. Sea-Watch, a German non-profit organization, placed blame on the authorities in Italy, Malta, and Tunisia, alleging that their requests for the boy’s evacuation had been denied.
Expressing their grief and frustration, the Sea-Watch crew stated, “Two hours after our first urgent request, a 17-year-old boy died. We are sad and angry. Europe’s isolationist policy has claimed another victim on board our ship.” Hugo Grenier, the Head of Operations for Sea-Watch 5, emphasized that despite hours of pleading for a medical evacuation, no coastal state responded to their plea.
Giulia Messmer, the organization’s spokesperson, accused EU states of evading their responsibilities, stating, “Authorities are quick and effective when blocking civil rescue efforts but inactive when it comes to life and death in the Mediterranean.”
According to the Italian coast guard, the Sea-Watch 5 had rescued the migrants within the Libyan Search and Rescue zone and should have proceeded to the nearest port in Tunisia. The Italian coast guard’s press statement mentioned that German authorities, as the flag state of the Sea-Watch 5, had directed the ship to head towards Tunisia.
At the time of the four men’s evacuation, the Sea-Watch 5 was located in the Maltese Search and Rescue area of responsibility, as indicated by the statement.
As for the remaining migrants on board the Sea-Watch 5, they have been instructed to be taken to a port on Italy’s northeastern coast. Sea-Watch has raised concerns about the distance assigned to these ports under Italy’s Piantedosi law, which often leads to prolonged and unnecessary travel for humanitarian ships.
Furthermore, Sea-Watch expressed dissatisfaction with the Italian authorities’ refusal to accept the body of the deceased boy during the medical evacuation. The organization tweeted, “We are told to hand him over in the assigned port of Ravenna. 1,500 kilometers away, over 4 days of travel. It’s inhumane.”
In recent times, various non-governmental humanitarian organizations, including Sea-Eye, Sea-Watch, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and SOS Méditerranée, have called on the Italian government to cease impeding their rescue efforts. They argue that the practice of assigning distant ports and frequently impounding vessels obstructs their ability to rescue distressed migrants at sea, leading to more tragic deaths.
The UN migration agency highlighted the Mediterranean Sea as the most perilous route for migrants, with at least 3,129 recorded deaths in 2023 as individuals attempted to reach Europe.