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Fifty seven distressed in Sicily, Italian Coastguard rescues 17
About 57 people have been distressed in Sicily in the last 24 hours.
Information by Alarm Phone said 17 people were earlier distressed before another 40 suffered the same fate in Sicily.
Alarm Phone said: “We are in contact with a group of ca. 40 people in distress 70 miles southeast of Sicily. They fled from #Libya and report having run out of water and food. We informed authorities in the night – hopefully @guardiacostiera will act quickly!”
Earlier, Alarm Phone had errorneosly given the number if the 17 distressed people as 70. The error was subsequently corrected.
“Today we were alerted by 70 people on a fiberglass boat near #Sicily. After 3 days at sea, they don’t have food or water left and their engine stopped. We alerted authorities hours ago: RCC Malta hung up, MRCC Rome told us they are handling the case, but refused to give any info.
“The Italian Coastguard found the group in distress and brought them to #Sicily where they disembarked. There was miscommunication over the phone and in the end they were 17 people, not 70. We wish them all the best.”