Somali Migrants Among 50 Rescued After Deadly Mediterranean Crossing off Libya

GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: Somali migrants were among 50 people rescued from an overcrowded wooden boat off the Libyan coast after seven people died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean, Italian humanitarian organisation EMERGENCY said.

The survivors were rescued by Life Support, a search-and-rescue vessel operated by EMERGENCY, after the boat was located in the Libyan search-and-rescue zone.

According to accounts given to rescuers, the group had departed from the western Libyan coastal town of Zuwara at dawn on Aug. 16.

EMERGENCY said the 50 people rescued included 45 men and five women. Twenty-nine were unaccompanied children, comprising 26 boys and three girls.

Two people were in serious condition after suffering breathing difficulties and required urgent medical evacuation, the organisation said.

The survivors were from Somalia and Egypt, EMERGENCY said, although it did not immediately provide a breakdown by nationality. It also did not disclose the nationalities or ages of the seven people who died.

The rescue vessel initially sought a nearby safe port for the survivors to disembark before being assigned Bari in southern Italy, according to EMERGENCY.

The incident took place on the Central Mediterranean route, one of the main migration corridors from North Africa to Europe and one of the world’s most dangerous maritime migration routes.

Libya remains a major departure point for migrants attempting the crossing to Italy. Zuwara, near Libya’s western border with Tunisia, is among the coastal areas from which migrant boats set out.

The International Organization for Migration has documented hundreds of deaths and disappearances along the Central Mediterranean route this year, while warning that the actual toll is likely higher because many incidents at sea are never recorded.

It was not immediately clear whether any Somali nationals were among the seven people who died. The Somali government had not issued a statement on the incident.