Life Support Search and Rescue Updates
11
Missions completed
983
People rescued
2022
Start of activities
23 August 2023
Today, A. and the other rescued people disembarked in Ortona, Italy.
“I wanted to go back to Sudan, to see my family, but the situation there had only gotten worse,” explains A.F., 30. He is one of 40 people rescued by Life Support during its latest mission in the Mediterranean.
A. comes from Darfur, a region in Sudan that has experienced war, famine, floods and epidemics. Today, it is one of the areas most affected by ongoing fighting in the country: yesterday, a rocket fell into the garden of our Paediatric Centre in Nyala, fortunately without doing any damage.
“Before I left, years ago, some of my friends and family were killed. But I suffered in Libya, there was strong racial discrimination. So I tried to cross the Mediterranean.”
A. was a victim of refoulement – illegal push-backs at sea. He was imprisoned for several months in Libya, and was only able to embark again after paying a ransom.
19 August 2023
40 People Rescued
EMERGENCY’s search and rescue ship Life Support rescued 40 men and boys in international waters. They had set off from Khoms, Libya, in a fibreglass boat.
“We have just completed the rescue of 40 people in international waters, they are now all safe on board,” says Carlo Maisano, Head of Mission
The rescued people come from Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, Syria and Sudan, and all seem to be in relatively good health. Life Support is now on its way to its assigned Place of Safety, Ortona.
This page shows updates from Life Support‘s latest missions. For updates from Life Support‘s previous missions, please see the archived update page for missions 1 through 10, which rescued 943 people.