67 migrants are feared dead off Libya and the coastal town of Zuwara
after more than 3,000 people attempted the crossing between Tuesday and
Wednesday. The crew of the Swedish rescue vessel Poseidon discovered
around 52 bodies in the hold of a wooden boat from which around 400
people were rescued some 30 miles north of Libya.
They were found close to the engine and are believed to have died from
inhalation of engine fumes and asphyxia. Originally, rescuers counted 30
bodies but a spokesman for the Italian coastguard said the real death
toll stands at 52.
In a separate incident, another 15 people are feared drowned after their
boat capsized around five miles off the coastal town of Zuwara on
Wednesday. A spokesman for the coastguard there said they had saved 20 people
and recovere
d three bodies. The survivors, primarily from Nigeria and
Ghana, told the coastguard they were traveling in a group of about 40 when
their boat overturned in bad weather. They had only travelled some four
hours after they left the shoreline.
The coastguard started the rescue at 4am and continued with the search into
the afternoon but no more bodies were spotted. The tragedies came
during
an especially busy day in the waters outside Libya.The Italian
coastguard said in a statement that around 3,000 people had been rescued in 10
different operations throughout Wednesday on the central Mediterranean route to
Europe. That brings the total number of people rescued since Saturday to about
8,170 people.
Rescuers from the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS),
Medicines
Sans Frontieres (MSF), the Swedish coastguard and Italian Navy
rescued at least 1,800 people between themselves. Most of them were picked
up within a square mile some 30 miles north of Zuwara. Around 11am, rescuers
from the Poseidon and MOAS were engaged with the boat in which the bodies were
discovered when another wooden vessel with 600 migrants appeared on the
horizon. An hour later, a dinghy with some 100 people on board was heading
towards the rescue vessels.
The result is that some 150 people were left stranded on the wooden
boat waiting while the Italian navy vessel Fiorillo made its way to the
area because all other vessels in the area were filled to capacity. People
started feeling sick provoking a chain reaction, while many more suffered from
dehydration. Eventually, a doctor from MSF treated the most pressing cases and
rescuers from MOAS supplied water making the wait more bearable.
According to Migrant Report, the migrants left Zuwara at around
midnight between Tuesday and Wednesday. Most are from Pakistan and Bangladesh
and sub-Saharan Africa.
Source: Migrant Report
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