Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1232859
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 8 APRIL 2020 NEWS LAURA CALLEJA THE Italian and Maltese govern- ments have told the German for- eign ministry they will not agree to disembarkation of migrants rescued by the German migrant rescue charity Sea-Eye, due to the developing situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. According to Sea-Eye, the German government has ad- vised the NGO to not undergo any further rescues and to call back its already deployed ships. The Sea-Eye migrant rescue vessel Alan Kurdi yesterday re- ported that shots were fired by Libyan militia as it rescued 68 people from an overcrowded wooden boat in internation- al waters off Libya's coast on Monday afternoon. Sea-Eye said that during the rescue, a Libyan flagged speed- boat endangered the work of its crew. "After shots were fired in the air, approximately half of the people on the wooden boat jumped into the water in panic without lifejackets and tried to swim towards the Alan Kurdi. The rescue boat crew deployed life-saving appliances and a so- called CentiFloat to save the people from drowning," the NGO said. The NGO said that after the situation calmed and the Liby- ans started to back off, all the people in distress were sup- plied with lifejackets and taken on-board. Sea-Eye said that while the first rescue was taking place, a second distress call north of Alan Kurdi's position was picked up – the NGO explained that while the Italian offshore Asso Ventinove had reached the second emergency several hours before the Alan Krdui, it did not commence any rescue efforts. "Due to its size, the Italian supply ship would have been significantly better suited to rescue the 82 persons, among them one pregnant woman, from the wooden boat," Sea- Eye said. By reasoning that they had to stay put, so as to be able to as- sist the oil rigs close-by, in case of a possible accident there, the Asso Ventinove refused to rescue and denied responsibil- ity for coordination. Hence, Alan Kurdi also evacuated the second boat and is now look- ing for a port of safety, with a total of 150 rescued people on board," The NGO said that both the Italian and Maltese ministries made it clear to the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that they would not agree to disembarkation, even if the distribution of the rescued per- sons would be arranged – due to the developing situation caused by the coronavirus pan- demic. Sea-Eye said that in the re- sponse, the German Federal Foreign Minister advised the NGO to not undergo any fur- ther rescues and to call back its already deployed ships. "Every human life is valuable. We are sure, that the German Federal Foreign Minister will succeed in taking on additional responsibility for 150 people," chairman of Sea-Eye Gorden Isler said. "After all, Germany is our flag state. During the past few days, the Federal Government has successfully repatriat- ed 200,000 of its own citizens from abroad in an immense ef- fort. It must be imaginable and humanly possible to send an aircraft for 150 safety-seeking people to Southern Europe in order to immediately evacu- ate these people. In Germany, there are approximately 150 cities in the Coalition of Safe Ports who declared their read- iness to receive people on the move," LETTER OF INTENTION The Director of Anglo International Ltd., Mr Neil Hiller, declares his intention for the company to register for an Employment Agency licence in accordance to article 23 of the Employment and Training Services Act, 1990 (Act XXVIII of 1990). The activities proposed to be carried out are the following: 1) Recruitment Consultancy 2) Interviewing, selection and placements of candidates in employment 3) Recruitment of persons from abroad for employment in Malta or in an EU member state 4) Recruitment of persons in Malta for employment in Malta or in an EU member state 5) Advertising for the filling of vacancies 6) Keeping a register of applicants for employment Registered Address: Tower Business Centre 2 nd Floor, Tower Street, Swatar BKR 4013 The employment agency will be operating from Tower Business Centre, 2 nd Floor, Tower Street, Swatar BKR 4013 Company Registration Number: C 75925 Malta tells Germany it will not allow rescued Sea-Eye migrants to disembark Shots fired by Libyan militia at migrant rescue vessel Alan Kurdi during the rescue of 68 people, endangering the work of its crew Footage of the rescue taken by Sea-Eye