ROME – Alarm Phone, an NGO hotline for migrants in distress, accused Italian authorities of delaying the rescue of a migrant boat of 47 off the coast of Libya on Sunday.

 The NGO first alerted Italian authorities early Saturday morning in a tweet, “emphasizing the urgent distress situation” they had learned of after contacting the vessel, which was overcrowded and “battling wind and rough weather.”

 According to Alarm Phone, “no one intervened for over 24 hours.” Then, on Sunday evening, they confirmed the overturning of the ship, which resulted in the drowning of dozens of migrants.

 “We are in shock,” Alarm Phone wrote on Twitter. “According to different sources, dozens of people from this boat in distress have drowned. We first alerted authorities at 2:28h CET on 11 March, emphasising the urgent distress situation. The Italian authorities knowingly delayed rescue and let them die.”

 After Alarm Phone’s initial contact with the ship, Sea-Watch International announced that there was a nearby merchant ship that was “not equipped” for the extent of the rescue, which led them to urge both Italian and Libyan authorities to intervene.

 Neither country sent additional assistance during those 24 hours, according to Sea-Watch. Tripoli, Libya’s capital city, claimed that they were “unable” to send boats.

 “After calling the Libyan rescue center, they confirmed they would not send a ship,” tweeted Sea-Watch on Saturday. “When we reach the MRCC [Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center] again with the question of who will take over coordination and responsibility for the people, the officer in charge hangs up.”

 Since then, the merchant ship that was previously non-interfering has rescued the remaining survivors of the vessel, though the number of survivors has not yet been confirmed.

 Alarm Phone tweeted Sunday night:

 “After the shipwreck with many deaths, we worry that survivors – who watched their friends dying before being rescued by a merchant vessel – will be forced to Libya or Tunisia where inhumane conditions await. We demand that all survivors are brought to a safe place in Europe!”

jd