Alarm Phone commends SOS Humanity for rescuing distressed people

Alarm Phone, an organisation that provides independent support to people attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to the European Union, has commended SOS Humanity for rescuing 65 people who were found in distress in the central Mediterranean.

In a post on X, Alarm Phone said the group had alerted the organisation after the 65 people contacted it while in distress at sea. Alarm Phone said it subsequently notified authorities and civilian search-and-rescue organisations, but it was the civil fleet that responded to the emergency.

“Rescued!” Alarm Phone said, thanking SOS Humanity for responding to the distress call and carrying out the rescue operation.

The development follows an earlier report by Voice for African Migrants that the SOS Humanity search-and-rescue vessel Humanity 1 had rescued 65 people, including 10 minors and four women, after they were found in distress following a journey from Libya.

According to SOS Humanity, the rescue was conducted on Wednesday afternoon after the group had reportedly spent three days exposed to the open sea and extreme heat.

The Humanity 1 crew said the distress situation was reported by Alarm Phone, with reconnaissance aircraft Albatross Uno also helping to locate the people in need of assistance.

The survivors were reportedly found exhausted and dehydrated and were taken aboard Humanity 1, where they received emergency medical care.

SOS Humanity criticised European migration policies, accusing European governments of abandoning people in distress while civil search-and-rescue organisations face increasing scrutiny and political criticism.

The organisation said the rescue demonstrated the importance of civilian search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean and reaffirmed its commitment to rescuing people in distress, documenting their experiences and providing protection to those in need.

Alarm Phone has repeatedly called for greater protection of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean and for an effective European search-and-rescue system to prevent deaths at sea.