Missing migrant boat found, as 1,300 refugees land on Lampedusa
UPDATE 2 | A migrant boat with 220 sub-saharan refugees fleeing Libya that was thought to be missing at sea, has been rescued by Italian coast guard vessels and has been escorted to Lampedusa.
13 May 2011, 12:00am
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Karl Stagno-Navarra
1 min read
The search - coordinated by the Armed Forces while the boat was still within the Libyan search and rescue area (SAR) – ended earlier this afternoon after it was established that the satellite phone on board the intercepted boat was the same that made contact with MaltaToday on Thursday evening.
At 7pm, MaltaToday made contact with the refugees on board the boat: “Italy, Malta we need rescue, water coming in, water coming in," one refugee said.
On board the boat were a number of women and children. The line cut and further attempts to contact the boat had proved unsuccessful.
An AFM statement confirmed that the Malta rescue centre had initially made contact with the migrants, but no further contact was possibile. The boat was still some 13 miles out of Malta's SAR area.
AFM sea and air assets were deployed and combed a vast area to locate the boat and was finally traced and assisted by Italian Coast Guard vessels into Lampedusa.
Meanwhile, another a total of six boats with fleeing refugees from Libya have landed on Lampedusa today, carrying a total of 1,300 refugees.
In another development, MaltaToday is informed that the Armed Forces of Malta have been alerted about another migrant boat and is currently monitoring the situation.
