Monday, 23rd June 2008
Sunken boat survivor complains of botched rescue operation
One of the men who survived a sinking boat this weekend is accusing the Armed Forces of Malta of a careless rescue effort that could have cost him and his mates dearly had it not been for a stroke of luck.
"We were basically abandoned," Mark Busuttil told The Times yesterday, a day after the ordeal. "Fortunately, it all went well. We were very lucky but not thanks to the rescue operations... I really hope something like this doesn't happen to someone else."
The 30-year-old was out at sea, some 16 miles North-West of Gozo, fishing early on Saturday morning with another three friends when the engine of their eight-metre long boat failed and they realised that water was gushing in.
"Before we knew it we were flooded... We tried throwing the water out with a bucket but it was useless. Within minutes a couple of waves caught the stern and we were sinking," he recalled.
He and his friend went down a few metres with the boat as they got caught in the canopy but then managed to swim to the surface. Even the small life raft they eventually mounted had to be cut free as it had been tied to the sinking boat.
They hardly had time to gather anything but Mr Busuttil says he sent a clear distress signal before going down.
"I radioed Valletta port on channel 16 and gave them our coordinates, the name of the boat and said clearly that we were sinking. They copied the information and, in fact, we saw (what we now know was) a patrol boat flashing its searchlight in our direction."
The boat, which remained in the area for 15 to 30 minutes, missed them, he said. "They patrolled the area for a brief while, drifted away for some time and returned close to where we were but then left. I can understand that they did not spot us. It was dark but we were hopeful that, at least, the rescue operation would continue at dawn and we would be safe but there was nothing of the sort... no boat, no aeroplane, nothing".
Luckily for the crew, which was huddled on a four-foot rubber dinghy, a fishing vessel that was towing a tuna pen was in sight. They had spotted the light coming from the ship at a distance and decided to row towards it, unaware initially that the boat was towing something.
They spent the night rowing towards it, before eventually catching up with the pen. The crew took them on board and called for a patrol boat, which arrived within an hour or so and took them to safety.
One of the crew members on the patrol boat told the survivors on the way back that the staff on the previous shift had left no instructions that there had been a sunken vessel the night before, Mr Agius said.
"What's more disturbing is that there seems to have been no signal sent out to the nearby ships to keep an eye out for survivors... and there were two ships nearby. We're safe only as we had a stroke of luck because the army abandoned us."
The Times contacted the Army for its reaction but no comment was forthcoming by the time of writing.
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Comments
I do sympathise with the crews who have to operate these boats in arduous conditions, ultimately they follow the orders given to them by their command center and respond accordingly. What occured that morning had all the symptoms of a suspected hoax call in terms of checking out the location quickly and moving on.
I'm sure the survivors don't hold the patrol boat crew responsible for leaving the area, but clearly a very bad decision was made either by Valletta Port Control or the AFM command center in determining that this call was not genuine.
What I find the most surprising is how relaxed the authorities have been about it all, with no comment whatsoever! If you get into trouble be prepared to rescue yourself, as our SAR resources are being held up dealing with immigrants.
I feel if 4 boats are available, at least 2 should be 'reserved' for local duties if that doesn't happen already
Mr Sammut, I am the brother of the survivors. If you were in our situation you would never call this whining. Let me give you some facts. This boat was the second time being used this summer. It was totally refurbished and had every safety measure (life jackets, flares etc). Till now we cannot understand what went wrong. Our complaint is the fact that the AFM sent a patrol boat an hour after the distress call and carried a 15-mins search for 4 people fighting for their lives. Remind you 15 MINS for FOUR PEOLPLE. The AFM usually spend 5 hours searching for illegal immigrants dead bodies. Shame of you calling this whining.
Another complaint that was not mentioned in the article is that an officer of the AFM told my brother that they thought that this was only a joke! Could this ever be a JOKE; my brothers, father and Mr. Busutill made a distress call, communicated their position to Valletta port and gave the vessel name. How the hell this could ever be a joke.
Quoting from what they said;
‘The boat patrolled the area for about 15 to 30 minutes’. And then, what happened? Did the patrol boat leave after such a short time? Was there any reason to end the search?
‘The staff on the previous shift had left no instructions’. Is this Malta or Timbuktu!?
Was a helicopter sent? Did Valletta port send any signal to the nearby ships?
Is this the same approach used when saving illegal immigrants?
It is imperative to have all the necessary safety equipment and take the necessary precautions but it is not a surviving guarantee especially in an instant panic moment. The authorities must ensure adequate rescue measures and procedures, while enforcing boat owners’ conformity and training.
Thank-god they survived!
But, it is very simple from the ministerial desk to utter the words "Ye, go and get them, bring them in". Two times a day.
Do not fail taxpayers again.
You said "Wally it seems you have never been in a drastic life threatening situation"
Just for the record, yes, I have been. We had lost both rudders on a sailing catamaran due to extremely rough seas. We still managed to attract the attention of a ship that changed its course, picked us up and brought us safely to Malta. We were some 80 miles away. The ship was the Polar IV, registered in Rumania. The year was 1974; at that time there was no VHF (on small yachts), no GPS, no DSC, no EPIRBs, no PLBs.
Last year we lost LOKI during the exceptional weather that we had for the MIddleSeaRace. While the rescue operation was under way I was mentally going through, step by step, over what I had inspected, wondering whether I had missed something. I had not skipped anything and I had even specifically discussed with the skipper his plans for coping with the loss of his rudder - the eventual cause of the wreck, as it happened.
I take my safety scrutineering very seriously; that is why in my original comment I had asked about flares.
Why after getting to the reported coordinates they spent so little
time searching the area, it must have taken them at least an hour to
get there.
If the AFM didnt see the boat (lets not forget the distress call came
for a sinking boat) when out on the rescue operation why didnt they
check with the boat owners if the call was a hoax or not. All it takes
is a phone call.
Why is it that in the change over shift nothing was mentioned about a
distress signal from a sinking boat?
One here is not stating that AFM dont do a good job and work miracles
but in this case they failed miserably and we should always call a
spade a spade otherwise we will never improve. When there are lives to
be saved no amount of effort should be spared. 4 lives could have been
lost in this incident and we can only thank God for the end result
the merchant navy should know that a thousand things can happen
(ever watched formula 1 with millions spent u still get a car
breakdown?).Mr Sammut whining and gripping, victims of circumstances,
story blown out of proportion! Oh how I wish I can put you in the
same situation these guys were in. Your comment show clearly that you
dont have the slightest idea of being in the sea at night time with a
north westerly swell pushing you off Malta, seeing the rescue boat so
close and putting in a half hearted effort to find tax paying Maltese
citizens. Who cares about the praise by US marines etc. We are
discussing this incident and AFM came out with a very poor show. Wally
it seems you have never been in a drastic life threatening situation,
those guys kept a cool head as they did the most important thing first
they sent a distress signal and then got a life raft ready believe me
that more than they could have done in that situation as a boat takes
literally seconds to capsize and sink.
" ... In an emergency when a boat starts sinking and you have a matter of seconds, composure is not always at the front of everyone's mind, that my friend comes from experience."
My friend, I DO have the experience; do you?
Even a hand-held light held aloft would have helped the S&R to locate the liferaft. Rescuees need to do all that is possible to aid the rescuers in providing the requested assistance.
When I am scrutineering sailing boats for safety, prior to approval for participation in offshore races, flares are but one in a long list of items that I check. The principle is simple: during the race I will be at home; it is the racers who will be out there. It is IN THEIR OWN INTEREST to be in a position where they can actively aid THEIR OWN SURVIVAL. For example, I have lost count of the number of rusty CO2 cartridges that I have found when inspecting lifejackets. A cartridge costs less than €7; how much for a life?
With regards to the comments written by Mr Gatt and Mr Zarb, I can assure you that in the very few minutes since the victims discovered their vessel was going down, the shocked men on board had only enough time to evacuate the vessel.. and yes the vessel was proven seaworthy by a marine surveyor only a few weeks ago.
A small suggestion to you guys is first ensure you know the facts, then make your comments.
It's very easy for Wally sitting on his couch to say this is what you should have done, and why didn't you have your flares and ditch bag, blah, blah blah. In an emergency when a boat starts sinking and you have a matter of seconds, composure is not always at the front of everyone's mind, that my friend comes from experience.
But the fact remains that the AFM vessel did not stay in the area doing an extended search for a resonable period of time, and no further rescue attempts were tried. Whether they were instructed to return or otherwise, remains to be seen in the AFM response.
Could it be that the AFM are too busy rescueing illegal immigrats to properly care about taxpayers in distress?
Busuttil and company were mere victims of circumstance, and the whole story seems blown out of proportion merely to have the tuna-pen operator recoup some dignity on recent past bad flak received locally and overseas.
No doubt the AFM top brass will look into the allegations made on lacking in handing/taking over procedures, and messages of missing persons to merchantmen in the area. But one ought to be more thankful and respectful to the few good men of the AFM, unsung heroes who haven't had a decent' summer intact weekend since 2002 because of the illegal migration phenomenon.