A migrant boat with approximately 65 people on board has been detected in Malta’s Search and Rescue (SAR) zone, migration NGOs reported, the second during this week.

This was once again reported on the NGO Alarm Phone’s Twitter page and followed up by another NGO called Sea-Watch International.

Alarm Phone said that they first got news of the boat during the early hours of Thursday morning, and uploaded a post soon after in which they explained that the migrants on board said that the boat’s engine was not working and that a women had fainted.

🆘 ~65 people in distress in Malta SAR! A boat with ~65 people escaping the Libyan hell & torture camps called #AlarmPhone this morning. They are in #Malta Search & Rescue zone & their engine is not working. They said a woman has fainted & they all need urgent rescue! pic.twitter.com/em3nmqwgzV

— Alarm Phone (@alarm_phone) July 16, 2020

In the same thread, Alarm Phone said that the boat has been at sea for over 24 hours. It warned that a wooden boat can capsize at any moment and delays risk people’s lives, saying that they tried to contact Maltese authorities but to no avail.

As hours passed by, the NGO said that the area in which the boat has idled has waves that are up to two metres high due to strong winds, resulting in water entering the boat.

“We are still in contact with the people in distress: ‘We are dying, we are dying! Nobody is helping us, there is just sea! Please help help help!" they scream on the phone, in panic,” reported Alarm Phone. 

With Maltese authorities failing to respond, the NGO alerted Tunisian authorities but it was told that the boat is in Malta’s SAR and they have no available rescue assets available. 

A few hours later, NGO Sea-Watch International was able to spot the boat through its personal surveillance aircraft, Moonbird, confirming that the boat “is clearly in Malta’s SAR”. 

The migrants on board told Alarm Phone that they were able to reignite their engine but that they feared that it will break down again, Additionally, they said that they had run out of drinking water, had no life vests and can only move at a slow pace.

The people in distress were spotted by #Moonbird of @seawatchcrew. They are clearly in Malta SAR & need help. They told us that they were able to reignite their engine but fear that it will break down again. They have no drinking water left. Authorities remain unresponsive. pic.twitter.com/K4OfVQKwen

— Alarm Phone (@alarm_phone) July 16, 2020

This newsroom tried to contact the Armed Forces of Malta for any updates on the situation but they could not be reached.

On Monday, another boat with approximately 60 people on board was detected in Malta’s SAR. In total, four migrant boats have been reported this month, excluding the 180 migrants who were being held on board of a merchant ship for days but eventually rescued by the Italian port.