This archive report was first published on 3 July 2020.
Published on July 3, 2020, a charity group operating a rescue boat in the Mediterranean declared a state of emergency due to the deteriorating safety situation on board.
The Ocean Viking vessel, carrying 180 migrants, has been waiting for over a week for permission from Italy or Malta to offload the migrants at one of their ports.
As witnessed by an AFP reporter, tensions have risen in the past week, with migrants becoming increasingly desperate to reach land. Some have become distraught not being able to telephone their families to let them know they were safe.
A crew member, Ludovic, expressed his concerns, saying, "I don't feel safe. We have to find a port now, it's a question of safety."
"I don't feel safe," Ludovic said. "We have to find a port now, it's a question of safety." The charity group, SOS Mediterranee, stated that it was not safe to keep migrants on the boat after they had endured a near-death experience on an unseaworthy dinghy in distress. "After seven requests for a Place of Safety to the relevant maritime authorities within the past week and six suicide attempts by survivors within 24 hours, the Ocean Viking has declared a State of Emergency..." the group wrote. Early on Friday, a migrant tried to hang himself, and others exhibited signs of extreme mental fatigue, depression, and acute agitation, which erupted into several physical fights among the survivors on deck. Two migrants had begun a hunger strike, and the charity asked for a medical evacuation for 44 Tunisians, Moroccans, and Egyptians showing signs of acute psychological distress who were threatening to harm themselves and others. On Thursday, two migrants threw themselves into the Mediterranean but were rescued. The charity group received a negative response from Italy and Malta after its first request for a port and no replies to its six subsequent requests.
