Merchant vessels and rescue ship Ocean Viking (IMO 8506854) have found 10 bodies floating near a capsized rubber boat that was believed to have had 130 people on board, France-based SOS Mediterranée has said.
Another wooden boat was still missing with about 40 migrants aboard, a spokesman for the group said on Friday April 23rd.
Three boats were reported as in distress in rough weather on Wednesday, prompting SOS Mediterranee to launch a search “in seas that were generating up to six-metre waves.
Three merchant vessels helped the Ocean Viking search for the boats in international waters northeast of the Libyan city of Tripoli.
SOS Mediterranee said ro-ro cargo ship My Rose (IMO 8207381) found three bodies in the water; an aeroplane from EU border agency Frontex spotted the rubber boat soon after.
When Ocean Viking arrived on the scene it did not find any survivors but there were ten bodies in the water nearby. The boats were thought to have left Libya in their attempt to cross the Mediterranean.
1986-built, Norway-flagged, 2,090 gt Ocean Viking is owned by Ocean Viking AS care of manager Hoyland Offshore AS of Steinsland, Norway. It is entered with Skuld (Business unit Skuld Offshore) on behalf of Hoyland Offshore AS.
1984-built, Panama-flagged, 7,955 gt My Rose is owned by Rosewhite Shipping SA care of manager Alesta Roro Gemi Acenteligi of Samsun, Turkey.