Central Mediterranean, June 2025 – Mission 118 of the humanitarian organization Open Arms, carried out by the sailing vessel Astral, has come to an end after completing three rescue operations that helped protect the lives of 169 people at sea, including women, children, and two newborns. Three interventions under extreme conditions that once again draw attention to a migration route as deadly as it is forgotten.
The first rescue took place on May 31, after the Seabird aircraft (Sea-Watch) spotted a drifting boat carrying 29 Eritrean nationals, adrift and without any means of protection. The crew of the Astral provided life jackets and assisted the castaways until their safe transfer to the competent authorities.
The second operation was launched on the night of June 5, in the Libyan SAR zone. Aboard a precarious boat, without water, food, or fuel, were 86 people — including 8 women, 10 children, and a baby — after drifting for two days. Alerted via radio, the Open Arms teams carried out an emergency rescue, including interventions in the water, and provided immediate care to the rescued individuals.
The most critical rescue took place between June 7 and 8, when a joint alert from Alarm Phone and Seabird guided the Astral to an abandoned oil platform. There, 54 people — including 5 women, 2 children, and 2 newborns — had managed to take refuge after a shipwreck. One of the women gave birth on the platform itself, without medical assistance, after being trapped for more than three days in extreme conditions. All were successfully evacuated and received care on board.
With 169 lives protected, Mission 118 once again highlights the urgent need for an effective, coordinated, and human rights-centered search and rescue system. In the absence of institutional responses, civil society continues to fill an unacceptable void.
