refugees
Libya: Dozens of migrants die in boat accident
A washed up life jacket: Dozens of migrants also recently drowned in Libya’s neighboring country Tunisia (archive photo). photo
© Hussein Ben Mosa/IOM 2020/AP/dpa
Deadly tragedy near Tripoli: after a terrible boat accident, more than 50 people drowned – including children.
According to the UN, at least 55 migrants have drowned after a boat accident off the coast of Libya. The North African country’s coast guard rescued five people, according to the UN Organization for Migration (IOM).
The boat with 60 women, men and children on board was shipwrecked on Tuesday. It left the east of the capital Tripoli and was on its way to Europe.
At present, many migrants are once again daring to make the dangerous crossing to Europe in often unseaworthy boats. Again and again people die in the Mediterranean Sea. Dozens of migrants have also drowned in Libya’s neighboring country Tunisia in recent days. Local media reported that a mortuary in the coastal town of Sfax was completely overcrowded after several boat accidents.
German motor sailing ship saves migrants
The German aid organization Resqship was able to save 41 Mediterranean migrants. The crew of the motor sailing ship “Nadir” took the people from an overcrowded steel boat and brought them to the Italian island of Lampedusa, the NGO said. The boat had been driven out of the sea due to a defective engine and could not be manoeuvred. It was said that among those rescued were a pregnant woman, a four-year-old child and other minors.
“The steel boat was completely overloaded. This type of boat does not have its own float and can sink within a very short time after water has entered. We were prepared for anything,” said Resqship spokeswoman Cat Spangehl on board the “Nadir”.
The Hamburg association’s motor glider is actually not a rescue ship that can transport many people. During its missions, the “Nadir” usually provides first aid before larger rescue ships take on migrants and refugees in distress.
A large number of migrants are currently arriving in Italy. The country’s Ministry of the Interior counted more than 31,000 people who reached Italy by boat this year – in the same period last year there were around 7,900.