Five migrants dead after survivors stranded in Maltese waters are taken to Libya

IOM confirms death of five migrants, and seven missing, from boat that was stranded in Maltese waters before being rescued by a commercial vessel and taken to Libya

Five migrants were found dead, and seven are missing, in a boat left stranded in Maltese waters and picked up by a commercial vessel.

The NGO Alarm Phone was the first to announce the tragedy, saying Malta was “responsible for the deaths and for returning the survivors to war, rape and torture.”

The International Organization for Migration confirmed the deaths.

The boat is believed to be the last of four that were left floating in Malta’s search and rescue zone for days. A commercial vessel picked up the migrants on Wednesday and took the 51 survivors to the west coast of Libya as well as the bodies of the five dead, over to the Libyan coast guard. The IOM said that survivors were taken into detention in Tripoli.   

The migrants are believed to have died of exhaustion and dehydration after several days first drifting in Libya’s search and rescue area for days before entering Maltese waters.

In a statement on behalf of Maltese NGOs, Neil Falzon, from the NGO Aditus, said they were “deeply saddened and angered” at news of the death of migrants at sea and at the “illegal push-back” of the survivors to Libya.

Malta was “legally and morally responsible” for protecting the lives of those who requested help whilst in national waters but had instead played “political games, resulting in needless and cruel loss of life”.

“This is a terrible day for Malta, for human rights and for our nation’s legacy,” he said.

The International Organisation for Migration on Wednesday tweeted about the return of the migrants to Libya, reiterating its call for no one to be disembarked in an unsafe country. 

Two of the four migrant boats made their way to Sicily over the weekend, and one was intercepted by a Spanish rescue NGO.