The relatives of persons who were on a boat carrying 110 migrants in Malta’s Search and Rescue zone fear that the passengers have been abducted to Libya and are being held in a military prison in Benghazi, humanitarian NGO Alarm Phone has stated. On 18 August, the NGO said that a group of some 110 people were in danger in Malta’s Search and Rescue zone after shots were fired by a vessel flying a Libyan flag. Contact with the boat was lost soon after they informed Alarm Phone about the shots fired. Later on that evening, Alarm Phone contacted the Greek coastguard, who said that they could not reach the distressed but that Malta was handling the situation. On 20 August, relatives of the people on board contacted Alarm Phone and told the NGO that they feared that the persons on board the boat had been abducted to Libya and are being held in a military prison in Benghazi.
