UK army aware of migrants boat tragedy

A British university’s report into the deaths of scores of Africans who were left adrift at sea while fleeing the Libya war has revealed that the UK military were aware of migrants' desperate plight. Right after the Nato forces launched airstrikes to topple former Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi, hundreds of thousands of people living in the African country tried to flee the war. In one case, some 63 of 72 people aiming to flee Libya died on the “left-to-die” boat from thirst and hunger after the boat was left drifting for two weeks in the world’s busiest shipping lanes in the Mediterranean. The 90-page study by Goldsmiths University in London employed forensic oceanography technology in a bid to determine the exact movements of the boat, which was left adrift unaided, despite European and Nato officials being aware of the boat’s troubles and location. Meanwhile, the few survivors reportedly said that a “military helicopter” had visual sightings of the boat for two times and even had communication with the people on board, but then left the area without helping them. The report revealed that the depiction of the helicopter is assumed to be that of a British Westland Lynx, that was serving during the Libya war at the time. The British military has denied to attend any investigation into the event, with Ministry of Defence claiming its helicopters were not in the region at the time. However, one of the survivors Dan Haile Gebre was shown “several photographs of different helicopters in operation at the time of events,” the report said. He immediately recognized Westland Lynx helicopter of the British Army when he saw its image. “It circled around us 4-5 times and came closer. It was making a lot of wind, and we almost lost our balance,” Haile Gebre said. “The helicopter came very close to us down, we showed him our babies, we showed them we finished oil, we tell them ‘Please help us,’” other survivor Abu Kurke Kebato said. The survivors also said that they all saw the English writing “ARMY” on the helicopter. “A Westland Lynx 140, a battlefield utility helicopter of the British Army which does bear the writing “ARMY” on its side and can be used for SAR operations, was spotted in June 2011 in Malta on-board the HMS Ocean, a landing platform dock ship that took part to the military operation in Libya,” the report said. According to the survivors a ship, flying the French flag, also communicated with the boat, but it also left the people on board. "Participating states/Nato forces had the information and the ability to assist the migrants but failed to do so in a way that would have prevented the deaths of 63 people," the report concluded.