Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/193056
5 News maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2013 ily apart The trip itself was tense, as Libyan military vessels kept coming and going until the ship got out of Libya's territorial waters. "They started shooting at us, scaring the women and children, who started screaming," Mohammed says, adding that three people had also been hit. But because of the shooting, the ship started taking in water. "I remember we started firing flares so someone would notice us, and at that point, a helicopter spotted us." He adds that two hours passed between the time the helicopter spotted them and the Italian and Maltese search and rescue vessels reaching them. "As the boat started taking in more water, it started tilting on its sides. I grabbed my daughters and wife and put their lifejackets on. I dove into the sea and turned around to face them and told them to lean on me so that I could take them off the ship." As the ship kept taking in more water, the solution was to get them off the boat before it capsized. But A fleeting look at a budding friendship as he was holding Lamar, the ship capsized and he lost sight of Taghrid and Sham. At the same time, Lamar started to choke, having swallowed large amounts of water. In the sea, the father tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and after a while his daughter started coughing and opened her eyes. "I held her tight to me but there was no sight of my wife and my other daughter. I don't want anything from this world but to hold them again," Mohammed repeats. On Monday, Lamar was shown a picture of a girl who was rescued and taken to Lampedusa. The little girl believes it was a picture of her own sister. Except for that, the two have heard no other news. Taghrid's brother has now flown to Italy in hope of finding his sister and niece. It appears that the rescued migrants in Lampedusa have been taken to different hospitals. Meanwhile, Mohammed and his family – like several others seeking asylum – anxiously wait for news of their loved ones. PMs Joseph Muscat (left) and Ali Zeidan embrace upon the arrival of the Maltese delegation in Libya on Sunday JURGEN BALZAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MANGION ould rise to 200 witnessed in many other similar cases. We could only base our calculations on what we could see on the upper deck," Col. Spiteri said. The boat could not be recovered after it sank, and an AFM spokesperson explained that if the boat was carrying persons in the lower decks these could be trapped inside, and unless the bodies emerge to the surface, these bodies will probably never be recovered. Surveillance operations are still underway, however these could be suspended if no other survivors or bodied are recovered in the next few days. Survivors of Friday's ordeal, mainly Syrian refugees, also said that their boat was shot at by armed Libyan persons, claims which prompted the Libyan government to open an investigation. Asked whether, the AFM aircraft who first spotted the boat on Friday at 4pm had sighted any other vessels in the area, Col. Spiteri said that the images do not show any other boats apart from the one carrying the migrants. On Saturday, migrants told MaltaToday that the boat which was around 20-metres long carried many more persons then first reported and the real reason why the boat capsized was because the vessel was shot at by Libyan military personnel who were following the migrants in a separate vessel. They also said that at least two persons were killed in the shooting and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said three people were wounded in the shooting, citing reports from migrants. It said the shots were fired "perhaps by militiamen who shot to kill". Although, Col. Spiteri could not confirm the real reason why the boat capsized, he said that images captured by the AFM aircraft showed that for some reason the migrants shifted to one side of the boat causing it to turnover. Describing the incident as "particular," Col. Spiteri said that on being informed by the aircraft personnel that a boat was in distress 61 miles south of Lampedusa, he immediately dispatched the P-61 patrol boat which was around an hour away from the scene. However, a few minutes later, the aircraft reported that the boat had capsized and that numerous persons were in the water. "On hearing this I ordered the King Air to drop a life- raft in close proximity of the persons in distress and immediately contacted the Italian command to dispatch their assets." Moreover, Col. Spiteri requested the Italian military mission in Malta to dispatch their helicopters stationed din Malta, which eventful participated in the operation to evacuate severely injured survivors to medical facilities in Lampedusa. THE Prime Minister's surprise visit to Libya on Sunday not only bolstered the relationship between Malta and Libya but also embodied the strong friendship between Joseph Muscat and his Libyan counterpart, Ali Zeidan. Muscat was the first Western leader to visit Zeidan following the latter's kidnapping on Thursday; and Sunday's visit was his third to Libya in his first seven months in office. Moreover, Muscat and Zeidan also met in Malta and New York in recent weeks. Accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella, Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, Head of Government Communications Kurt Farrugia, four security personnel and a small party of journalists, Muscat flew to Libya aboard a jet chartered by the Libyan government. Upon landing at the Mitiga military airport just after 1pm in Tripoli's sweltering heat, Muscat was given a warm welcome by Zeidan. As the two leaders hugged each other, Libyan army generals in full ceremonial uniform lined up to greet the Maltese delegation. After a speedy and chaotic 10minute drive to the Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, the two leaders and their delegations held a 30-minute meeting, in which Muscat expressed his solidarity with Zeidan and said that political leaders should only be elected or removed from power through democratic elections and not violence. On his part, Zeidan expressed his appreciation for Muscat's visit and said that the relations between the two countries were excellent. He add- ed that the close relationship between the two leaders was taking relations to "the next level". During the press conference in which Maltese and Libyan journalists were allowed to field their questions, Muscat said Malta wanted to send a message that it stood firmly behind the Libyan people's effort to build a democratic state where the rule of law is "paramount". "We know that the majority of Libyan people do not believe that might is right and that governments should be removed with weapons. Governments should only be removed through elections," he said. The three-hour visit came just three days after Zeidan was seized at the Corinthia Hotel by former rebel militiamen, only to be released a few hours later. A former Libyan rebel group said on Thursday that it had kidnapped Zeidan after the government allowed the United States to capture top al-Qaeda suspect Abu Anas al-Liby in Tripoli last weekend. Following his release, Zeidan denounced his kidnapping as an attempted coup and warned that some of the country's many armed militias want to turn Libya into "another Afghanistan or Somalia". Zeidan's kidnapping deepened fears that Libya may be on the verge of disintegration, with security split between regular forces and many militia formations. However, a resilient Zeidan said yesterday that Muscat's visit was a clear signal of the two countries' closeness and an affirmation that the use of violence was unacceptable. During the joint press conference, Zeidan said, "We salute the people of Malta and reiterate our commitment to build a modern country, guaranteeing a civil and peaceful life to our citizens". On his part, Muscat said, "We will always be there for you and I believe that the majority of Libyan people want a stable and democratic nation". Although Muscat pointed out that the visit was not about business but only an act of solidarity, the two leaders could not avoid discussing migration and the tragic incident last Friday in which at least 30 migrants who had left Libya lost their lives at sea. Zeidan said his government was investigating claims from survivors of the shipwreck that they had been shot at by Libyan militias as they left the North African coast. He said preliminary investigations indicated the claim that the Libyan navy had fired on the boat was not true. He insisted, however, that should it turn out to be true after further investigations, Libya would take all necessary action. Muscat added that imposing the rule of law and stability in Libya is crucial for security in the Mediterranean and Europe. "Today's meeting was not about business, but we did speak about migration. We can work together on migration: I know that the Libyan government is committed to cooperate, and we discussed ideas which I will convey to the EU during the next council meeting." Muscat said that following the kidnapping incident, he was concerned about Zeidan's health and today's visit was an act of solidarity. Following another frenzied drive in a worn-out van from the hotel to the military airport, through which we, the journalists, were given a first-hand experience of Tripoli's wacky roads, we finally skipped out of the searing heat into the comfort of the air-conditioned jet. During the short, 30-minute trip to and from Libya, during which the stewardess mistakenly served the food to the security personnel, thinking they were the politicians, we had time to mingle with the latter and share a few thoughts and jokes. On our way back, Joseph Muscat revealed that upon meeting Zeidan earlier on, he had jokingly told the Libyan PM that at least he had got a new pair of spectacles and upgraded his look following his kidnapping ordeal – to which Zeidan replied that his daughter had passed the very same comment.