Boat accident in the Mediterranean: CompassCollective rescues 31 people

Boat with 45 refugees sinks in front of the rescuers

Three people presumed drowned

Late yesterday evening, a boat accident occurred in front of the crew of the sailing ship TROTAMAR III, which was cruising in the Mediterranean between Lampedusa and Tunisia to support civilian sea rescue operations, in which three people are believed to have died. Following an emergency call, the rescuers rushed to the scene of the accident in the late afternoon of March 28 and found an overloaded and unmaneuverable metal boat with 45 people on board. Life jackets were immediately issued to all the occupants, as the boat was in danger of sinking.

The crew of the TROTAMAR III rescued 31 people from the water on board and provided first aid. The Italian coastguard was able to rescue a further 11 people from the water. However, for probably three people, all help came too late and they drowned.

The CompassCollective is a small NGO from Wendland in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since August 2023, we have been supporting civilian sea rescue in the Mediterranean with our 13m-long sailing boat TROTAMAR III. More than 200 people have drowned here since the beginning of the year. Almost 30,000 people since 2014, and the number of unreported cases is probably much higher. The CompassCollective wants to save people fleeing across the Mediterranean from death by drowning or dying of thirst and alleviate their immediate suffering. Further missions are planned for this year.

You can find copyright-free photo material here: https://compass-collective.org/en/press/

For your queries:
Jan Becker
Tel. 0160-8029185
presse@compass-collective.org