Devon seaman leads dramatic 15-hour rescue to save 550 refugees left to die in the ocean
By Herald Express
A DEVON Merchant Navy sailor has described his dramatic rescue of nearly 550 refugees from certain death saying “they were left to die”.
Plymouth man David Bateman helped to save a total of 536 refugees after they had been abandoned in the Mediterranean on a fishing boat designed for just 20 people. The mammoth rescue operation off the coast of Italy saw David spend 15 hours ferrying the refugees back and forth 13 times between his lifeboat and the oil tanker he serves on.
Last Sunday’s rescue made international headlines. Of the 537 refugees, 157 were children aged from just a couple of months old. Forty pregnant women were also on board. One man died after slipping into a diabetic coma.