Two  dead, six missing as Sea Watch’s vessel rescues 28 people

A Sea-Watch rescue crew says it rescued 28 people from a shipwreck in international waters early on September 29, recovering two bodies and learning from survivors that at least six people remain missing, including three children from the same family.

According to Sea-Watch, its rescue vessel Aurora found a nearly deflated rubber boat at about 4 a.m. after the civilian emergency hotline Alarm Phone alerted authorities to the boat.

Five survivors and two bodies, including the body of a child, were found on the rubber boat, the organisation said.

Sea-Watch said the other 23 survivors from the shipwreck had reached the Hasdrubal gas platform, which is located in international waters within Tunisia’s search and rescue zone.

With permission from the Tunisian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, the Aurora then proceeded to the platform, where its crew distributed life jackets and brought the remaining survivors aboard. Sea-Watch said a small child was among those rescued.

The organisation said survivors reported that at least six people were missing, including three children from one family. It added that it was not yet known whether the child whose body was recovered was one of the three missing children.

The Italian authorities subsequently assigned Lampedusa as the vessel’s safe port, and the Aurora is now heading there, according to Sea-Watch.

Sea-Watch spokesperson Julia Winkler linked the incident to the organisation’s criticism of European migration policies, saying governments were presenting declining arrival figures as a success while people continued to die or disappear at sea.

Sea-Watch also called for a state-run European maritime rescue programme, describing maritime rescue as an obligation rather than a discretionary measure.

The organisation said more than 1,970 people had died or gone missing in the Mediterranean in 2026 while seeking protection. That figure and Sea-Watch’s assessment of European deterrence policies are claims made by the organisation and were not independently verified in the information provided.