Shipwreck in the Mediterranean on April 19, 2015

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Coordinates: 36 ° 11 ′ 0 ″  N , 12 ° 5 ′ 1 ″  E

Map: Italy
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Accident site​
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Italy

In the shipwreck in the Mediterranean on April 19, 2015, an overloaded refugee boat capsized on the night of April 18 to 19, 2015 en route from Libya to Italy . One survivor reported that there were 950 people on board. First it was spread that up to 800 people had drowned, only 28 people could be rescued (including the captain and the helmsman) , making this the biggest refugee disaster in the Mediterranean. In June 2016 the wreck was lifted and the number of casualties corrected by the Italian Navy to around 500.

According to UNHCR , more than 1,000 people had drowned in the Mediterranean in the previous week.

background

Refugees or potential migrants usually have no chance of obtaining a visa and entering the EU regularly. Instead, a large number take advantage of services offered by people smugglers or people smugglers . In the EU states, refugees entitled to protection are protected by the Geneva Refugee Convention (see: Asylum and subsidiary protection ), whereby an asylum application to an EU state can only be made in the respective state or upon entry.

The journey by refugee boat across the Mediterranean is considered to be "the deadliest route" into the EU.

The supported solely by Italy Search and Rescue operational Mare Nostrum had expired in October 2014 and was approved by the operation Triton , led by the EU border agency Frontex replaced. However, Triton was financially significantly less equipped than Mare Nostrum, and their ships were initially not authorized to move more than 30 nautical miles from the Italian coast. NGOs, shipowners 'associations and the international seafarers' union therefore warned of a threatened increase in refugee deaths in the Mediterranean and accused the European Union of inaction. During the unlucky week in April 2015, a total of 1,200 people were killed in several accidents.

Misfortune and rescue operation

The unknown ship, presumably a fishing cutter , capsized off the Libyan coast, around 200 kilometers from the Italian island of Lampedusa . At around 11:30 p.m. an emergency call was received by the Italian coast guard , which then sent the freighter King Jacob from the shipping company König & Cie. directed to the scene of the accident. The Italian coast guard said there were 500 to 700 migrants on the ship.

According to current reconstructions by the Italian public prosecutor's office and the UN refugee agency, the refugee boat rammed the freighter. It is believed that the captain wanted to hide and maneuvered carelessly. In the panic after the collision, the overloaded ship continued to lean to one side until it capsized.

Several ships were involved in the rescue operation. The site of the accident was identified around 130 km off the Libyan coast, south of the coast of Lampedusa. Italy's Coast Guard and Navy, the Maltese Navy and merchant ships used boats and three helicopters to search for survivors at the scene of the accident. There were also seven Italian fishing boats among the first responders. 28 people could be saved. The survivors come from Mali, Gambia, Senegal, Somalia, Eritrea and Bangladesh.

By April 20, 2015, the rescue workers had recovered 27 dead.

Recovery of the wreck

In early May 2015, the Italian Navy discovered the likely wreckage of the refugee ship about 150 kilometers northeast of the Libyan coast at a depth of about 375 meters. Matteo Renzi announced that he wanted to raise the ship. The public prosecutor in Italy, however, announced that it was not necessary for the bodies to be recovered from the wreck.

The ship was recovered on June 27, 2016 from a depth of 370 m. The wreck is brought to Sicily by the Navy and the remains are stored in a refrigerated transport device about 30 meters long. The dead are to be identified.

Reactions

UNHCR Southern Europe spokeswoman Carlotta Sami said that if the numbers were confirmed, it would be “the worst mass extinction that has ever been observed in the Mediterranean.” After the disaster, she called for the Mare Nostrum sea rescue program to be reissued, but now under pan-European responsibility .

MSF began its own rescue operation in the Mediterranean.

The Federal Government Commissioner for Refugees, Minister of State Aydan Özoğuz (SPD), said: “That so many people have lost their lives on the way to Europe is a sign of poverty for all of us.” It is to be feared that even more people seeking protection would come across the sea. “That's why we finally have to put on the sea rescue again. It was an illusion to believe that Mare Nostrum's hiring would discourage desperate people from making the perilous voyage across the Mediterranean. "

The Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called for a special EU summit. A summit on the recent refugee dramas in the Mediterranean has been scheduled for April 23, 2015.

Tony Abbott , the head of government of Australia, recommended that Europe strengthen its border protection.

At a crisis meeting of the foreign and interior ministers, a ten-point action plan on migration was adopted by the European Union as a direct reaction to the shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea on April 19, 2015 . In the European Agenda for Migration adopted on May 13th , various measures were put together, and the European Union subsequently announced that it would massively expand sea rescue aid and triple the funds for the EU programs Triton and Poseidon , which use significantly more ships should enable.

Legal proceedings

On April 20, 2015, Italian police arrested the Tunisian captain of the refugee ship, Mohammed Ali Malek, and the Syrian helmsman Mahmud Bikhi. They are accused of negligent homicide and of facilitating illegal immigration. On December 13, 2016, a court in Catania sentenced the captain to eighteen and the helmsman to five years in prison. In addition, both have to pay damages totaling ten million euros.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Survivor: “We were 950 people on board”. In: Deutsche Welle . April 19, 2015, accessed April 20, 2015 .
  2. ↑ a b c Captain of the refugee ship arrested. In: Die Zeit , April 21, 2015.
  3. ↑ a b c It broke our hearts as sailors. In: Bild , April 20, 2015.
  4. ↑ Nicole Winfield: Italy Lowers Toll From 2015 Migrant Wreck After Ship Raised. In: Associated Press , June 30, 2016.
  5. ↑ Fabian Reinbold: What can Europe do? In: Spiegel Online . April 19, 2015, accessed April 20, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Number of boat refugees higher than ever before. (No longer available online.) In: Die Zeit . December 10, 2014, archived from the original on March 17, 2015 ; accessed on April 23, 2015 .
  7. ↑ More than 700 people drown in the Mediterranean Sea. In: The time . April 19, 2015, accessed April 19, 2015 .
  8. ↑ Oliver Meiler: The refugees' hope depends on private individuals or NGOs. In: Basler Zeitung . April 19, 2015, accessed April 20, 2015 .
  9. ↑ ECRE: MareNostrum to end - New Frontex operation will not ensure rescue of migrants in international waters . October 10, 2014, accessed October 19, 2017
  10. ↑ Thousands Of Lives Will Be Lost In The Mediterranean Unless EU Governments Take Urgent Action, Say Shipowner Groups And Seafarer Unions ( Memento of the original from August 28, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ecsa.eu of April 8, 2015 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ecsa.eu
  11. ↑ Christian Rothenberg: Shipowners save refugees, EU is watching . NTV, April 23, 2015, accessed October 19, 2017
  12. ↑ Oberleitner and Salomon: Whose Security? Introductory Remarks on People on the Move and the Reclaiming of Security . In: Blurring Boundaries: Human Security and Forced Migration. Ed .: Salomon, Heschl u. a., Koninklijke Brill 2017, ISBN 978-90-04-32686-6 , p. 4.
  13. ↑ Wolfhart Fabarius: "King Jacob" sold after two years. In: Daily port report . April 24, 2015 ( thb.info ).
  14. ↑ After the refugee drama: smugglers have to expect hardship. (No longer available online.) Stern.de, April 21, 2015, archived from the original on April 22, 2015 ; Retrieved April 22, 2015 .
  15. ↑ Police arrest the captain and helmsman. In: Handelsblatt . April 21, 2015 ( handelsblatt.com ).
  16. ↑ a b Marine probably discovers wreckage from the recent refugee disaster. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . May 7, 2015 ( sueddeutsche.de ).
  17. ↑ n-tv.de
  18. ↑ The bodies of refugees are not recovered. In: Der Tagesspiegel. May 17, 2015 ( tagesspiegel.de ).
  19. ↑ a b Marine conceals wreckage from sunken refugee boat. In: Spiegel Online . Retrieved June 30, 2016 .
  20. ↑ UN fear the worst refugee disaster in the Mediterranean. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . April 19, 2015, accessed April 27, 2015 .
  21. ↑ Ashley Fantz, Josh Levs, Jethro Mullen: 'Genocide' charged as boat capsizes in Mediterranean. In: CNN . April 19, 2015, accessed April 19, 2015 .
  22. ↑ Another fear of hundreds of dead refugees. In: Spiegel Online . April 19, 2015, accessed April 19, 2015 .
  23. ^ Italian Prime Minister Mario Renzi calls for a crisis summit. In: Der Tagesspiegel . April 19, 2015, accessed April 27, 2015 .
  24. ^ Refugee tragedies in the Mediterranean: EU special summit on Thursday. In: DiePresse.com . April 20, 2015, accessed April 20, 2015 .
  25. ↑ Australia offers tutoring to Europe. In: Spiegel Online . April 21, 2015, accessed April 22, 2015 .
  26. ↑ European Commission: Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Seventh semi-annual report on the functioning of the Schengen area November 1, 2014 - April 30, 2015, May 29, 2015. ( ec.europa.eu PDF; 131 kB)
  27. ↑ They drove 800 refugees to their death. In: Hamburger Morgenpost . April 21, 2015 ( mopo.de ).
  28. ↑ Hans-Jürgen Schlamp: Harsh judgment, hardly any signal effect. In: Spiegel Online , December 13, 2016.