Ghost boat investigation
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| Date | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Location | Mediterranean Sea |
| Participants | Group of 243 people |
| Outcome | All missing |
| Missing | 243 |
The ghost boat investigations are a project looking into a group of at least 243 refugees who disappeared in the summer of 2014.[1] None of the missing people have contacted their family members, no bodies were found, and there is no wreckage of any kind. One theory is that a people-smuggling boat off the coast of Libya, intending to sail to Italy, disappeared without trace.[2] A lack of wreckage is highly unusual for such a large watercraft.[3] Reporter Eric Reidy has been investigating the case by blogging and using crowd sourcing.[4][5] Bobbie Johnson, a senior editor at Medium, took Reidy's articles and created the ghost boat project to help track the missing group of "ghost boat" refugees.[1] As of December 2015[update],[needs update] no trace of the passengers has been found.
The 243 people in the group who were to leave Libya each paid $1,600 (about $2,100 in 2024)[6] to get to Europe.[7] Measho Tesfamariam arranged the trip and "handled communication, logistics, and payment for the big smugglers".[8] There were three other individuals who helped fill the boat: Ibrahim, Jamal el-Saoudi, and Jaber, all of whom have Sudanese passports (although Jamal is Eritrean).[9] Ibrahim was in charge of arranging the trip and the passengers and families' contact.[8] Tesfamariam says that the boat was due to depart from the Libyan Khums (Al-Khums) beach, but he didn't witness the departure.[9] Tesfamariam was arrested on December 2, 2014 on people-smuggling charges.[8] Meanwhile, Eritrean Jamal el-Saoudi, who was the manager of the Tokhla group smuggling operation that arranged the ghost boat group's journey, lives in Libya where he is a well-connected man.[8]
Most of the passengers were Eritreans fleeing the highly repressive military regime that rules the country.[2][10] At the time, around 5,000 Eritreans fled the country every month.[10]