One defendant spoke of seeing people crushed to death on crowded boats, unable to help. She also remembered lifting children’s cold, limp bodies from those boats, not knowing if they were dead or alive. "I felt that as a European citizen and someone with search and rescue training that I could assist,” he told the court. Mr Binder found the Greek search and rescue organisation ERCI online and applied to volunteer. He believed that search and rescue should investigate information from locals, other NGOs, and on social media regarding potential boats in distress.

Source: Irish Examiner January 15, 2026 20:07 UTC