Moment migrant rescue ship machine gunned by coastguard in shocking footage

A charity rescue ship came under machine gunfire from the Libyan coastguard as the crew tried to rescue a stricken migrant boat. The attack happened in the Mediterranean about 40 miles north of the Libyan coast, outside Libyan territorial waters. Britons were part of the Ocean Viking crew, which had already rescued 87 people from two sinking boats.

As the rescue ship turned towards the third distress signal on August 24, armed officers from a Libyan patrol boat opened fire without warning. Crew members said the incident happened despite Libya's officials being aware of the mission. Lucille Guenier, the ship's communications officer, said: "We are used to this, we know they will intimidate us. I realised that now they're pointing arms at us - we didn't have a moment to do anything and they opened fire, shooting at the bridge."

Angelo Selim, who was the search and rescue coordinator on board of the nonprofit SOS Mediterranee boat, said: "In the beginning, I didn't understand the noise of the shots. But when the first windows exploded on my head, we all got on the floor." He added that the shots appeared to be from automatic weapons.

The refugees, migrants and crew members locked themselves inside a safety room while Selim and the captain remained on the bridge.

The incident appeared to be among the most violent clashes between a European rescue vessel and the Libyan coastguard, which is equipped, trained, and funded by the European Union. According to SOS Mediterranee, the patrol boat involved was donated to Libya by Italy in 2023 as part of an EU-backed border management program.

Eventually, Selim said, the shooting stopped, but the Libyan coast continued with threats. The guard warned the Ocean Viking in Arabic over the radio: "If you don't leave the area, we will come and kill you all."

SOS Mediterranee said in a statement: "This incident was not only an outrageous and unacceptable act. This is far from isolated: the Libyan Coast Guard has a long history of reckless behaviour that endangers people at sea, flagrantly violates human rights and shows total disregard for international maritime law."