There were several deaths at sea this week after a migrant boat sunk off the coast of Libya.
On 12 August, Albatross – SOS MEDITERRANEE’s and Humanitarian Pilots Initiative’s (HPI) joint aerial monitoring plane – witnessed two interceptions by Libyan actors in the Libyan Search and Rescue Region north of Tripoli within the space of an hour. The second was described as a ‘violent interception’ whereby a Libyan Coast Guard patrol vessel pursued an overcrowded rubber boat carrying approximately 30 people, including children and babies, while conducting a series of aggressive and dangerous manoeuvres.
On 14 August, SOS MEDITERRANEE said Albatross spotted 11 bodies in an advanced state of decomposition while conducting a monitoring flight over the central Mediterranean. SOS said that while the circumstances and timing of the shipwreck remain unknown, this sighting is ‘a stark reminder of the human consequences of Europe’s deadly policies of indifference and deterrence-at-all-costs.’
On 17 August, the Italian rescue NGO Emergency announced the death of seven migrants as a result of their boat sinking off the coast of Libya. It said 50 others were rescued, noting that two of them are in critical condition.