My reaction was exactly the same, until I read the article about refugees caught by Tunisian Coast Guard: https://medium.com/il-manifesto-global/in-tunisia-refugees-caught-between-prison-and-deportation-c8981e292516. I think that city of Zwhara, mentioned in the article, might be in fact Zuwara with different transliteration (زوارة‎). It would be useful if you could write names of places and people not only in English, but also in Arabic or/and Tigrinya. I don’t know Tigrinya, I know a bit of Amharic and Arabic alphabet though and while checking some things out it could be better to know the original version.
Also, I would like to ask, did anyone try to check Measho’s version? I’ve read the interview with him (mentioned in one of the updates, I think): http://gatti.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2014/11/07/missing-boat-case-measho-tesfamariam-only-god-knows-what-happened/, where he talks about his brother, Medhane, who — as he claims — went missing on the Ghost Boat with all the other passengers. I was unable to find any Medhane Tesfemariam, but I found Medhane Kiflay, who has many photos with Measho on Facebook (most of them signed as “family”). And a man named Medhane Kiflay is on the list of people reported missing on this boat (http://gatti.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2014/11/07/june-28-boat-case-243-eritrean-refugees-missing-at-sea-the-list-of-passengers/).