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Drama on the MediterraneanRefugee boat capsizes – readers experience the rescue operation up close
A small boat with 85 refugees on board was in distress on Friday. Several ships rushed to the people’s aid. Mike from Aargau also traveled on one of the cruise ships.
“Attention, we will stop to save refugees” – with this announcement the staff of the MSC Armonia explained why the cruise ship suddenly had to stop on October 14, 2022.
20min / News-Scout
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A boat carrying 85 people capsized in the Mediterranean on Friday.
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Reader Mike was traveling on a cruise ship when the alarm went off.
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“The willingness to help is great,” he says.
Drama at sea: Reader Mike witnessed a rescue operation in the Mediterranean on Friday when a refugee boat capsized off the coast of the Greek island of Corfu. The Aargauer is currently on a multi-day cruise that leads from Athens to Dubrovnik. In the afternoon, the MSC Armonia suddenly stopped in the middle of the route and the travelers heard an announcement from the ship’s personnel: “Attention, we will stop to rescue refugees.”
The cruise ship wasn’t the only thing that rushed to the rescue of refugees in need. A sailing ship, another cruise ship and two freighters that were nearby stopped and prepared for a rescue operation. The MSC Armonia also lowered its rescue ships. “A sailor said that according to Greek law, all ships in the vicinity must come to the rescue,” says reader Mike.
“It had women and children underneath”
The Greek coast guard was also on duty because, according to the Swiss, the incident happened in Greek waters. At first it was said that the MSC Armonia would take in the 85 people in need. “We stood in the same place for a long time.” In addition, the staff warned the travelers: With refugees on board, the MSC Armonia could not continue to Dubrovnik, the route would have to be adjusted in such a case.
A small ship with 85 refugees on board (in the middle of the photo) capsized.
20min/ News-Scout Mike
Several ships – including two freighters – rushed to help the people.
20min/ News-Scout Mike
In the end, however, another ship took the people on. “It had women and children under it,” the reader later learned. “The willingness to help is great,” says Mike.
He doesn’t know where the people came from. He suspects Africa as origin. The reason for the emergency is likely to be the poor weather conditions at sea. «When we left Athens yesterday, the weather was beautiful. It’s storming hard today,” says Mike. Only after several hours did the MSC Armonia travel further, and the other ships also continued their planned routes.
Tugboats often use boats that are too small and in poor condition for crossings. In addition, the boats are often overcrowded and therefore do not survive the journey across the Mediterranean.
Mediterranean is second most frequent refugee route
According to the EU border protection agency Frontex, irregular migration to the EU is at its highest level since 2016. Between January and September, 228,240 irregular border crossings were detected, Frontex announced on Thursday in Warsaw. This corresponds to an increase of 70 percent compared to the same period last year.
The second most common route for migrants came via the central Mediterranean route. 65,572 people tried to reach the EU in this way. This corresponds to an increase of 42 percent. According to Frontex, this route was mainly used by people from Tunisia, Egypt and Bangladesh.