The Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy has been described as the “world’s most dangerous maritime crossing”. This was proven once again last week in the tragic shipwreck of a boat full of men, women and children, around 50 miles away from the southern Greek town of Pylos.
The boat was being tracked by the Hellenic coastguard who said that those on board refused their assistance repeatedly, and that people on board said they wanted to continue to Italy. It was for this reason that no active rescue took place, according to the coastguard.
But activist groups, including Alarm Phone, an emergency hotline for refugees in distress in the Mediterranean, have contested this account. In an email to authorities, published by investigative journalists We Are Solomon, Alarm Phone alerted authorities to the vessel’s location, and reported that “several people, among them some babies, are very sick. The people on the boat said that they cannot go on”.
