The aid organizations SOS Méditerranée and Sea-Watch have accused the Libyan Coast Guard of having prevented the rescue of dozens of people in distress by firing shots in the air today. SOS Mediterranee said the Libyan Coast Guard threatened the crew of its rescue ship “Ocean Viking” with firearms and then “brutally” intercepted 80 people in distress in international waters.
The civil emergency network Alarm Phone had previously forwarded the distress call of a boat in distress in international waters off Libya to the SOS Méditerranée rescue ship “Ocean Viking”. On the way to the emergency at sea, a Libyan coast guard patrol boat appeared and came “dangerously close” to the rescue ship.
All attempts to contact the Coast Guard by radio from the bridge of the “Ocean Viking” remained unanswered, SOS Méditerranée said. The crew of the patrol boat behaved increasingly aggressively, threatened to use firearms and began firing shots in the air.
Faced with threats to crew safety, the Ocean Viking pulled away while the Libyan Coast Guard continued to fire in the air. The non-governmental organization Sea Watch observed the distress at sea from a civil surveillance aircraft and published a video of it on Twitter. Accordingly, people fell from the board of the overcrowded inflatable boat.
