Frontex video shows Sea-Watch rescue; Italy probes NGO for aiding illegal entry

Source: Frontex — A total of 90 migrants are said to have been on board the smuggler's boat.

Frontex footage shows Sea-Watch helpers taking migrants from a smuggler's boat. Italy is investigating the NGO for "aiding illegal entry." Sea-Watch rejects the allegations.

A video released by the EU border protection agency Frontex, depicting a rescue operation by the NGO Sea-Watch in the Mediterranean, has sparked controversy and raised questions about potential connections between aid organization employees and migrant smugglers.

WELT obtained the video from Frontex, which shows a rescue operation that took place on May 11. The French daily newspaper Le Figaro first reported on the footage. "Are humanitarian workers in contact with smugglers who bring migrants across the Mediterranean?" the newspaper asked.

What the Video Shows

The footage shows inflatable boats from Sea-Watch approaching a vessel, with people wearing life jackets orderly leaving a speedboat. According to Le Figaro, approximately 90 migrants, mostly from Bangladesh, were handed over to the Sea-Watch crew by five smugglers. The smugglers are reported to have been armed and, as visible in the video, wore balaclavas. According to Bild, Sea-Watch waited 55 nautical miles north of Tripoli, Libya, for the smuggler's boat.

Source: Frontex — People with life jackets change boats.

The video also shows the smugglers waving and giving a thumbs-up after handing over the migrants.

Frontex Confirms Deployment

A spokesman for Frontex confirmed to Bild: "I can confirm that a Frontex aircraft was deployed in the area on May 11, which is consistent with what we have previously stated publicly."

Legal Action Against Sea-Watch

Four days later, on May 15, the sea rescue ship Sea-Watch 5 docked at the port of Brindisi in southern Italy with 166 migrants on board. WELT reported at the time that the Italian judiciary was investigating the captain. The aid organization stated in May that he is accused of "aiding illegal entry."

Sea-Watch Responds

A spokeswoman for Sea-Watch rejected accusations of collaboration with smugglers, telling Bild: "The published footage shows only a selective excerpt." She stated that the rescue team found a double-decker boat with 90 people on board, including two unconscious individuals and several who were severely weakened. "There is neither a relationship nor any form of communication or arrangement. Furthermore, our rescue team was confronted by masked men."

Political Reactions

AfD leader Alice Weidel commented on the video on the online platform X, stating that the Frontex video "apparently confirms" the suspicion that sea rescuers are smuggling migrants into Europe "hand in hand" with criminal gangs. She added: "An AfD government will put a stop to the NGO smugglers!"

Sea-Watch responded: "A video 'apparently confirms' = the strongest form of proof since gut feeling. Sea rescue is an obligation under international law. But who has time for international law when their own party is on the verge of a ban procedure?"

Broader Allegations

Sea-Watch accused the federal government and the EU of using Frontex for years to politically, financially, and operationally support Libyan actors, "even though their violence against those seeking protection is documented." According to the organization, the Sea-Watch 5 was repeatedly threatened, harassed, and shot at on September 26, 2025, and on May 11 of this year. In May, Libyan militias also threatened to board the ship and kidnap the crew and the vessel to Libya, Sea-Watch reported.

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