‘It was horror’: captain who rescued migrants feared death when they hijacked his ship
- Nader el-Hiblu says the migrants seized metal tools and began smashing the ship and threatening crew when they realised they were headed for Libya, not Europe
- He says the Libyan coastguard refused to help, while Maltese authorities treated him like a criminal after storming the vessel
African migrants who hijacked an oil tanker after it rescued them in the Mediterranean Sea seized metal objects and began smashing the ship and threatening crew members after they realised they were being returned to Libya, the ship’s captain said Friday.
Nader el-Hiblu, the 42-year-old Libyan captain of the El Hiblu 1 ship, said he and five other crew members feared they could be killed during the “horror” that played out at sea this week. He said the threats by rioting migrants forced him to agree to their demand that he take them to Europe, not back to Libya.
“They attacked the cockpit, heavily beating on the doors and the windows and they threatened to smash the boat,” Hiblu said in an exclusive account given Friday to The Associated Press. He spoke by phone from the ship, which is now docked in Valletta, the capital of Malta.
“They went nuts and they were screaming and shouting ‘Go back! Go back! Go back!’” he said.
For years, the Mediterranean Sea has been a place of drama and death as desperate people from Africa and the Middle East, with dreams of a better life in Europe. board unseaworthy smuggling boats. Last year, 2,299 people died in the sea trying to head to Europe, and the dangerous journey has also killed 311 people so far this year.