A fishing boat with migrants on board overturned off Sicily for unknown reasons. At least five people were killed. The boat is said to have started in Tunisia.
A boat with migrants on board got into distress and capsized off the coast of Sicily. Five bodies then washed up on the beach in the municipality of Marinella di Selinunte in the west of the Italian Mediterranean island, the Ansa news agency reported, citing the coast guard. Coast guard and police forces are searching for missing people off the coast.
According to Italian media reports, the old and unseaworthy fishing boat overturned for reasons that are still unclear, dragging the people on board into the water.
Apparently started in Tunisia
The boat had already set off from Tunisia towards Italy in the middle of the week, it was said. It is unclear how many people were originally on the boat and possibly went ashore uninjured. It is therefore also unclear whether more people may have died in the accident.
The Mediterranean is one of the most dangerous escape routes in the world. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2,446 people have died or gone missing during the crossing since the beginning of the year. The number of unreported cases is therefore probably significantly higher. There is currently no state-organized rescue mission.
58 refugees reach Taranto
Meanwhile, the aid organization “SOS Humanity” brought 58 refugees and migrants to the port of Taranto in Italy. The Italian authorities had assigned the “Humanity 1” the port of Taranto for the disembarkation of the 58 rescued people on board after the crew questioned the previously designated port of Civitavecchia, around 500 kilometers away, because of a storm, it was said. For the “Humanity 1” there is now a crew change in Syracuse and preparations for the next mission.