On October 10, 2013, 268 Syrian refugees, including 60 children, were died when their boat capsized 60 miles south of the Italian island of Lampedusa, according to leaked recordings.
(Zaman Al Wasl)- Leaked sound recordings of the disaster of drowning of large boat carrying 480 souls, more than half of them died as a result of the failure of the Italian Coast Guards and their complacency.
The Italian newspaper Espresso has uncovered official records that are a stain on the human face, and on the very forehead of Italy, where Coast Guard officials have listened to repeated cries of distress and the cries of children and women who sought people who had lost the slightest sense of compassion.
On 11 October 2013, a large boat loaded with hundreds of Syrian refugees (coming from Libya) was facing waves in the Mediterranean, off the Italian island of Lampedusa, about 60 nautical miles, and about 120 miles off the coast of Malta.
A Syrian doctor named Mohamed Jammu, who spoke English, conveyed rescue calls from the stranded refugees amidst a terrible storm, reiterating his request to the Italian coast guard to save them before it was too late, but the Italians whose nearest boat takes an hour and a half from the boat did not move their boats until the boat drowned and everyone on board died. Later, Italy guards came to the location of the drowned boat to play "savior" for those who they killed!
Although Jammu provided the Italian Coast Guard officials the location of the boat, and gave them precise coordinates, the answer was always more inaction and indecision. They even called on Jammu to call the Maltese Coast Guard because the boat was near Malta, but Maltese told them they are closer to Italy.
Mohamed called the Italians again and told them what the Maltese said. He said "We're dying. The guards responded "Call Malta. Call Malta." As if to say to him, "Do not call us again."
The boat was almost two times closer to Italy (compared to Malta) and there was an Italian warship only 19 miles from the boat. The Italians should have rushed to rescue those threatened by drowning out of commitment to human conscience and international maritime law, but they treated these commitments terribly.
In a leaked call between an Italian naval officer and his Maltese counterpart, the latter tells him that the Italians have a ship close to the docked boat, and that the nearest Maltese ship 70 miles from the boat is suggested to give orders to the Italian warship to save the people, the employee says that the ship has to remain in its location (non-action) to complete the tasks entrusted to it! (Call at 16.44).
In a subsequent call (about half an hour later) between the Italian naval authorities and Maltese counterpart, the Maltese employee tells the Italians that the boat sank and that its passengers were in the water. The Italian employee, with a cold temper: "OK, it's the same boat saying they will send their ship near the sunken boat.
The report, published by "Espresso", was accompanied by real recorded footage of great horror in which the viewer lived moments of people sinking and fighting to survive. The footage was documented by a helicopter circling over the scene in a very depressing scene that monitored the absence of the sun and the absence of 268 Syrian refugees. 60 children.
Four years ago, Zaman al-Wasl followed the news of the massacre with a detailed report, in which it presented names and photographs of the victims, who died in a disaster that is the worst in the history of maritime accidents in recent years.
Video:
1st Call
0:43 (man in boat) hello
0:45 Yes
0:46 O, Speak English?
0:47 Yes, speak in English. Your position, your position.
0:48 We have three hundred people in the boat.
0:55 Three hundred people? Three hundred? Three zero zero?
1:00 Yes, three zero zero
1:02 person on board, yes
1:05 You have children?
1:10 About 100 children and 100 women and maybe one hundred men.
1:17 you are departed from? Libya? From?
1:18 Yes
1:19 Libya
1:20 From Zuwara
1:21 Zuwara
1:24 Please hurry. Water is coming into it
1:27 Please hurry. Please hurry, please hurry, please.
1:32 Sir you are moving or you are stop?
1:38 We are moving but, by the waves. I swear to you, please we are in a very hurry. I am a doctor please.
1:45 What is the problem on board?
1:51 The boat is going down
1:53 I swear to you there are about half a meter water in the boat. At the bottom of it
2:01 Ok, your name, your name
2:05 My name is Mohamad Jammo, I am a doctor.
2:08 Mohamad Jammo
2:09 Jammo, Mohamad Jammo
2:13 Sir, repeat your positon for another one. Your position, repeat
2:19 North 34 20 18. It’s the same and East 12 42 05.
2:33 Ok. Thank you sir, thank you.
2:35 Thank you
2nd Call
2:45 Hello
2:49 (man on boat) hello, please is anyone send for us?
2:51 Hello
2:54 Hello, please please, speak, speak
2:58 Did you send anyone for us? We are the Syrians around 300
3:01 Sir, I give you the number of Malta authority because you are near Malta
3:06 You are near Malta, you understand me?
3:09 Near Malta? We are near Malta?
3:12 Yes sir. Yes sir.
3:17 Please go go. Call Malta directory very quickly, and they are there. They are close, ok?
3:21 Ok, please go go go. Ok your welcome.
3:30 Sir?
3:32 Hello
3:33 Yes
3:36 I call Malta they say that we are near Lampedusa more than Malta
3:40 I gave position. You are the … for us
3:44 We are dying please
3:46 Ok you are, you are
3:49 We are dying. Three hundred person, we are dying
3:52 You have called Malta? You have called Malta?
3:58 Don’t throw us and simply run away without captain. You understand me?
4:01 Yes understood, understood
4:04 No captain. The captain run away. We have a woman… and two people injured
4:09 Yes yes. Call Malta. Call Malta
4:14 I have no enough account on the mobile. You have my number now. You call me now please.
4:21 Yes sir, you are, you are, are, talking with Italy. Italy, but you are, you are.
4:30 Yes, yes Lampedusa. Lampedusa is Italy.
4:36 Yes you have to call Malta, sir. You have to call Malta.
3rd phone call
4:52 Madame regarding your last fax. Some question to do with eh. You know that the war ship represent an important asset in order to spot a new target in the south area.
5: 15 If you want, if you need we send the war ship to save the people, to rescue the people. After with our warship we are in charge to transfer them to the nearest port. And I think it is not the best way to operate because after we not have an asset in the area able to spot new targets. Usually, usually..
5:53 Ok, is this the P402? The P402 is this vessel? The war ship
6:03 Eh no, actually no it is the P02
6:05 Malta P 402
6:07 P42 is your vessel
6:09 No P402 is an Italian naval ship. I don’t know if it is your vessel
6:16 Well it is probably a navy ship. It is not a coast guard ship, so I am not sure about the
6:25 Ah so it is not coast guard? Ok OK
6:26 But anyway
6:28 This is the closest one, you understand? This boat. Because we have an airplane in the area and it spotted the migrants, they are about 250, and the boat has apparently stopped moving now. And they keep ringing up and saying when is the boat coming? That is the nearest one. If you can’t send your ship we have to see what we are going to do, you under- we have also told a civilian ship to try and go to the area but it is some 70 nautical miles away from it.
4th Call
7:18 Hello
7:19 (Malta) Hello. I am the duty officer to tell you that the airplane has seen the boat capsizing. The people are in the water. The boat we have been telling you
7:31 Yes
7:32 The migrants. The boat has sank
7:38 Ok but is it the same boat.
7:39 It is capsizing. The people are in the water.
7:43 Is it the same boat that you told me about?
7:43 It is the same boat. Its capsizing
7:49 Well I already passed the instructions to navy Libra, soo
7:51 Ok, could you tell them to hurry to the position because they are in the water.
7:59 They are in the water and the boat is capsized
8:02 yes
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