An aid group conducting a rescue mission in the Mediterranean faced a harrowing interruption when armed bandits boarded the overloaded smugglers' boat and made off with it, leaving migrants stranded at sea. The incident, captured on video by SOS Mediterranee, took place approximately 46 nautical miles north of Zuwara on Libya's western coast, a common departure point for migrant smuggling operations bound for Europe.
During the rescue operation, volunteers from SOS Mediterranee were in the process of transferring 93 passengers from the wooden boat to their rescue vessel when two rubber dinghies approached. A masked bandit suddenly boarded the migrant boat, causing panic among the remaining passengers who jumped into the sea. The bandit seized control of the empty boat and steered it away while the SOS Mediterranee crew worked to rescue those in the water.
