BTN News: Ten migrants have died, dozens are feared missing after two shipwrecks off Italy On Monday, the Italian coastguard and a migrant rescue charity reported the latest incidents illustrating the persisting humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean. The shipwrecks played a part of the effort by migrants to make dangerous journeys to Europe to avoid war and poverty.
Tragedy off Lampedusa: 10 bodies discovered below decks
Ten bodies were recovered from below the deck of a wooden boat by rescuers who went to the assistance of an emergency off the coast of Lampedusa ResQship, an aid group registered in Germany, said on social media platform X the vessel Nadir rescued 51 people from the boat that was “taking on water”. But when rescuers arrived, they found the bodies of ten migrants drowned in the boat’s flooded lower deck, the coastguard said.
“Currently, there are 51 people on board the Nadir the crew is currently caring for. Ten people were dead when the charity reached them to rescue. Police said two of the liberated passengers had been rendered unconscious and had to be released with an axe. The boat, which was originally carrying 61 people, was discovered with water inside complicating rescue efforts.
More people missing, separate wreck off Calabria
Also in the Mediterranean, the Italian coastguard said it launched a search off Calabria after another shipwreck was reported. However, reports from media suggest more than 60 migrants could be missing in this mishap. Survivors told them that the migrants were thought to have been coming from Turkey.
Italian coastguards with more than 100 rescued migrants at LampedusaThe Italian coastguard say they began their rescue operation after Giovannella de Crescenzo called for helpA fresh wave of nearly 2,000 African migrants has landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa in a single day. The French ship contacted Malta with an alert that a boat looked half-submerged and saved 12 migrants on board before handing them over to an Italian coastguard vessel on its way to the southern Italy port of Roccella Ionica. One of the survivors died unfortunately after reaching the shore.
Humanitarian Crisis and Search Operations
Some 50 migrants are still missing from the shipwreck off Calabria, ANSA news agency reported. The radio agency, Radio Radicale, said the missing migrants consisted of Afghans and Iranians and highlighted the variety of people taking such dangerous voyages. Those include the continuing, though smaller-scale, search and rescue operations, highlighting the ongoing risks facing people seeking new lives in Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
The Italian coastguard along with a number of humanitarian outfits are working round the clock to trace and rescue any more survivors. The Mediterranean is one of the world’s deadliest migration routes – thousands lose their lives every year trying to seek safety and a better life in Europe.
