A migrant rescue organization and the coastguard reported on Monday that ten migrants perished and many more are presumed lost following two maritime disasters near Italy.
The German aid group ResQship disclosed on X that rescuers discovered 10 deceased migrants within the lower deck of a wooden vessel near Lampedusa during a rescue operation.
The crew aboard ResQship’s vessel, the Nadir, “is currently caring for 51 people on board. The rescue came too late for 10 people,” the German charity said.
“A total of 61 people were on the wooden boat, which was full of water. Our crew was able to evacuate 51 people, two of whom were unconscious — they had to be cut free with an axe,” it said. “The 10 dead are in the flooded lower deck of the boat,” it added.
In a related incident, the Italian coastguard is conducting a search operation off the coast of Calabria for individuals who went overboard in a different shipwreck. Survivors have indicated to the media that as many as 60 migrants could be missing.
The Italian coast guard was searching for 60 migrants who went missing after a shipwreck off the coast of Calabria on Monday, the same day German NGO ResQship announced it had located the dead bodies of at least 10 migrants in a rescue of some 51 migrants btwn Sfax and Lampedusa. pic.twitter.com/ieMHrY1Z7m
— InfoMigrants (@InfoMigrants) June 18, 2024
The coastguard has been on a search mission since the previous night for “potential missing individuals” after the capsizing of a migrant-laden sailboat believed to have set sail from Turkey.
Rescue efforts began after “a ‘mayday’ from a French pleasure boat sailing off the Italian coast”, it said.
After spotting “the partially submerged boat,” the French ship notified the authorities and rescued 12 migrants who survived the ordeal.
Subsequently, the individuals were moved to a vessel operated by the Italian coastguard, which transported them to Roccella Ionica, a southern Italian town. Upon arrival, one of the remaining 12 survivors passed away, as reported by the coastguard.
The ANSA news agency reported that approximately 50 migrants were unaccounted for after the shipwreck. Meanwhile, Radio Radicale stated the figure to be 64, noting that the missing individuals were Afghan and Iranian nationals.
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