Downfall of the Abu Nawal
The sinking of the Abu Nawal occurred on April 9, 2016 in the Mediterranean off the coast of Egypt . When illegal migrants were brought onto the Abu Nawal trawler registered in Rashid in rough seas and strong winds from a smaller ship , the trawler capsized and over 500 people drowned.
Downfall
On April 9, people smugglers tried to get 150 to 200 migrants from a wooden fishing boat onto the Abu Nawal trawler , which had already hosted over 300 migrants. Due to strong swell and wind as well as the overloading of the ship, the ship swayed very strongly and the crowd destabilized the ship, so that it capsized and sank. The smugglers on the wooden boat were still trying to save the crew of the Abu Nawal , threatening migrants who wanted to climb on board with knives and cutting lifelines that migrants had clung to. After rescuing Captain Salem and two crew members of the Abu Nawal , they drove away, leaving about 100 migrants floating in the water. Instead of notifying rescue workers, the smugglers discussed whether the migrants still on board should be killed.
On April 16, the Italian coast guard received an emergency call and the bulk carrier Eastern Confidence , which was notified by the responsible Greek rescue coordination center and sailing under the flag of the Philippines , was able to rescue survivors from a boat.
Among the 500 or so victims, 190 Somalis, 150 Ethiopians, 80 Egyptians and 85 people from Sudan, Syria and other countries were suspected.
Work-up
Since the smugglers had told the migrants that they would be returned to Egypt if they revealed the true place of departure, they initially claimed during interrogations in Greece that the ship had left Libya . It was also published by the UNHCR in a press release.
Seven months after the sinking, no national or international institution had yet identified a culprit or even opened an official investigation.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Stephen Gray, Amina Ismail: Special Report: 500 migrants drowned at sea. No one investigated. Reuters, December 6, 2016, accessed October 19, 2019.
- ^ Migrant crisis: Europol to investigate Egypt mass drowning. BBC News , December 6, 2016, accessed October 19, 2019.