2024-04-13 17:18:52
At least nine migrants have died and 15 are missing after the barge they were on sank overnight 30 miles southeast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, in Malta’s area of responsibility. The Italian Coast Guard said this Thursday that it supported the Maltese authorities in rescue operations, sending a patrol boat to the site, which rescued 22 shipwrecked people.
“The rescue operations were particularly complex due to the weather and maritime conditions, with very rough seas and waves of up to two and a half meters,” the Italian Coast Guard said in a statement. Six of the rescued migrants arrived on the island of Lampedusa in a state of severe hypothermia and were hospitalized in the island’s small health center.
Italian Coast Guard patrol vessels spent the entire night looking for the missing, who, according to survivors, number 15 people, including three minors. According to the media, eight bodies were found in the sea, including that of a child. The ninth victim died upon arrival in Lampedusa.
The barge was carrying people from Equatorial Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali and Ivory Coast and departed Sfax, Tunisia on Sunday night. The total number of migrants who were on the vessel is not yet known.
“Another maritime tragedy of despair shakes our island. Eight more victims have just disembarked, including a girl. The count has become endless, it’s always the same story, many, many, pay to die at sea”, said the mayor of Lampedusa, Filippo Mannino.
2024-04-13 17:18:52