Life Support | 215 People Rescued in the Mediterranean

On 5 April 2025, EMERGENCY's search and rescue ship Life Support performed three separate rescue operations, each involving one boat in distress, in the international waters of the Libyan SAR zone. In total, Life Support rescued 215 people.

"Upon receiving the first report, we promptly headed towards the boat in distress. We found it taking on water, and the people on board did not have life jackets," explains Jonathan Naní La Terra, Life Support's Head of Mission. "Our rescuers distributed life jackets to everyone and then transferred them on board Life Support. During the operation, three unidentified boats approached the area but did not interfere. From the bridge, a second distress case was spotted about three miles away from us, so we intervened to perform a rescue: the boat was overloaded and the people on board were exhausted from the journey. One person could not stand and was transferred to Life Support on a stretcher. When we received a third report of a boat in distress, we informed the authorities and redirected our attention once again.

We now have 215 rescued people on board. Our medical team is taking care of them and Life Support is heading towards the assigned port of Ancona."

The first distress case was reported via email by Alarm Phone at 05:48. Upon reaching its last known position, the boat was spotted from Life Support's bridge. Our rescuers then provided assistance to 93 people, including 26 women and 44 children, 41 of whom were unaccompanied. The overcrowded boat had deflated tubes and a significant amount of water on board. No one was wearing life jackets. The people on board reported that they had left at 10:00 p.m. the night before from Zawiya, Libya.

Some rescued people told EMERGENCY's Cultural Mediators that there are others missing: another 14 people were on board the dinghy with them who fell into the water before the arrival of the EMERGENCY rescue vehicles.

Before the conclusion of the first operation, a second vessel in distress was spotted from the bridge of Life Support. Without bringing its rescue vehicles back on board, the EMERGENCY ship headed towards this second case: a small wooden boat with 78 people on board, and no life jackets. The 78 rescued people included 18 women and 29 children, 25 of whom were unaccompanied. The survivors reported leaving Sabratha the previous night and that they had been at sea for more than 15 hours.

After the conclusion of the second operation, Life Support received another report from Alarm Phone, for a dinghy in distress near EMERGENCY's ship. Life Support proceeded to this third case, informing the MRCC in Rome of its intention to carry out the rescue. Upon reaching the reported position, the ship once again launched its rescue boats into the water to assist the 44 people on board the dinghy, which was also very deflated and overcrowded. The intervention ended around 12:40p.m., with the transfer of all people, including nine women and 19 children, 17 of whom were unaccompanied, on board Life Support.

In total, 215 people were rescued, including 53 women and 92 children, 83 of whom are unaccompanied. Their countries of origin include Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ghana, Mali and Somalia: countries that are devastated by armed conflicts, political instability, poverty and the climate crisis.

After completing the rescue operations and informing the competent authorities, Life Support was assigned the port of Ancona as the Place of Safety (PoS) for disembarkation.

Life Support is completing its 30th mission in the Central Mediterranean, having been operational in this region since December 2022. The ship has rescued a total of 2,701 people.