On the morning of July 7, a Friday, a blue-and-white fishing vessel that had departed from Libya carrying about 250 asylum seekers ran out of fuel amid the vastness of the Mediterranean, putting the lives of its passengers in peril.

At 10:47 CEST (08:47 GMT), an observation aircraft flown by the German NGO Sea Watch located the vessel in distress within Malta’s search and rescue area (SAR).

In this stretch of sea, Malta’s Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) is responsible for rescue operations.