Episode 27: "They capsized into the water. Luckily most people were able to swim"

One night in May this year, 110 people were crammed onto a wooden boat somewhere along Libya's Mediterranean coastline.  The boat was much too small for them all, and none of them had been given a life jacket. But they, much like the tens of thousands of others who have attempted to reach safety in Europe, must have been desperate to escape that war-torn country.  The people eventually made it into Malta's SAR zone, where the island nation was legally responsible for coordinating their rescue. But of course, Malta did no such thing.  Two activist-run rescue ships did come to their aid on May 24th. And while they were waiting on instructions from the authorities that night, the wind and waves began picking up.  The sea got so rough that the refugees' boat capsized, fling 110 people into the water in the pitch black of night.    In today's episode, Leon, an activist who was aboard the Nadir that night, is going to tell us all about the rescue operation, ResQship, and about the crew's run-ins with the EU-supported Libyan Coastguards too. ---Show notes--- For more on ResQship, visit their website here: resqship.org  A follow them on Twitter here: @resqship_int Follow The Civil Fleet's coverage of the Nadir here: bit.ly/39SnJjy For more on the Nadir's May 24 rescue mission, see here: bit.ly/3ylXlIA  The Nadir, at the time this episode was published, is currently carrying 19 people and is in desperate need of a port. Read The Civil Fleet's latest story on this here: bit.ly/3zYdJQC  Ben mentions the Sea-Watch 3, Sea-Eye 4 and the Ocean Viking near the beginning of the interview. If you want to know more about them, see episodes 22, 10, 7, and 1.  Get in touch: @FleetCivil [email protected] civilfleet.com   Support:  ko-fi.com/civilfleet