Many individuals vanished following their mass exodus across the Mediterranean Sea.
Off the Italian coast, two vessels met with trouble, as reported by safety officials. It appears that 51 individuals were successfully rescued, but unfortunately, it was too late for eleven more. As we speak, coast guard units are still in search of around 50 missing persons.
In the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, at least eleven migrants tragically lost their lives in two boat accidents near Lampedusa Island and Southern Italy's Calabria region. Resqship, a German aid organization, and Italy's coast guard informed that these boats were struggling off Italy's shores. Search and rescue teams were also on the hunt for several missing individuals.
Resqship's team onboard the ship "Nadir" managed to save 51 people from a wooden boat traversing between Libya and Lampedusa. Their grim findings indicated ten corpses in the boat's hull, already submerged in water. Two of the survivors were reported to be unconscious and required immediate medical attention upon reaching land.
Italy's coast guard, meanwhile, saved twelve people from a sailboat off the coast of Calabria. However, one passenger perished during the rescue operation. Italian news agency Ansa suggests that rescue teams are still searching for approximately 50 missing, believed to have fallen overboard, as recounted by survivors.
The coast guard suspects the sailboat originated from Turkey. French sailors supposedly stumbled upon the shipwrecked refugees, around 120 nautical miles from Italy's coast, and notified the coast guard. The victims were then transported to a merchant ship and later to a coast guard vessel that delivered them to Roccella Jonica port.
Later in the day, the coast guard and the EU border control agency Frontex continued the search efforts without providing an official count of missing persons at the time.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that the central Mediterranean remains one of the deadliest migration routes globally. In 2023, IOM data shows that 3155 individuals have tragically perished trying to cross the Mediterranean.
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Despite the ongoing efforts of rescuers, the number of missing migrants in the Mediterranean Sea continues to rise. In light of this crisis, Italy has called for increased international cooperation in immigration policy and sea rescue operations.
