A total of 223 people, including pregnant women and children, who were rescued within Malta’s search-and-rescue area this week are still stranded at sea, and their health conditions continue to deteriorate.

The 223 people were rescued in four operations off Malta between Thursday and Friday by German NGO Sea-Eye.

After the Maltese authorities turned down a request for disembarkation on Saturday, Sea-Eye crew are now close to Sicily and are are looking for a safe port to harbour.

“We are close to Sicily now, even though the rescues took place in the Maltese SAR zone, the Maltese Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre did not respond and coordinate these cases,” Sea-Eye Four spokesperson Sophie Weidenhiller told Times of Malta on Sunday.

“Our ship has asked for a port of safety to bring the people on land but so far only Italy has responded. They said they have forwarded our request to the authorities but they also pointed out that this happened outside of the Italian SAR zone and not under the coordination of the MRCC Rome."

Times of Malta reported on Saturday that the Armed Forces turned down the NGO’s request for assistance and said: “Malta is not in a position to provide you with a place of safety.”

Instead, the AFM’s rescue coordination centre directed the group to the nearest port of safety, which is said was Tunisia.

Sea-Eye crew and medical staff accompanying the children onboard Photo: Sea-Eye/ Fiona Alihosi

No casualties but conditions are deteriorating

A number of survivors are struggling as the state of their health continues to worsen. The spokesperson said they were out at sea for over three days before being rescued by the NGO.

“They are dehydrated, seasick, have infections and infected wounds, broken bones, and one child is in so much pain that he cannot even walk,” the spokesperson said. 

Two people have grade three chemical burns while there are also two old men with diabetes, one of whom has a coronary vascular disease, onboard.

There have been no casualties. 

“The pregnant women are still suffering from stomach pain and are clearly under a lot of psychological stress. All survivors need to see doctors once on land and receive psychological counselling and aid."

She said the crew tried to evade bad weather by sailing up north, and that the improvement of the weather conditions have helped the overall mood of the survivors.

"I have been informed by the crew that there is now some sunshine and people are in a bit of a better mood, but still, they should be able to go on land soon so that none of their health conditions deteriorated."

No updates on search for fifth boat 

Since Friday, the NGO crew was also been searching for a fifth boat in distress, yet the search remains unsuccessful. 

“We kept looking for the fifth boat but could not find it. We have no information on what happened to them. We hope those people are still alive, but we don’t know what happened,” she said.