The next tragedy on the Mediterranean? The Ansa news agency reports on a boat accident off Lampedusa. After that, 41 people are missing, four were rescued.
After a boat accident with migrants in the Mediterranean, 41 people are missing, according to the Italian news agency Ansa. A migrant boat drove from the Tunisian coastal town of Sfax towards Italy and capsized off the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, Ansa reported, citing four rescued migrants.
The four survivors reported to the authorities that 41 people had died. A total of 45 people, including three children, were on the metal boat. A large wave caused the boat to capsize during the journey. The rescued also reported that only 15 life jackets were available on board.
No bodies found in the water
The four were reportedly rescued from the water by a Maltese cargo ship and taken to Lampedusa by the Italian Coast Guard. Neither the freighter nor the Coast Guard patrol boats found bodies in the water, according to Ansa. This could be because the survivors were rescued far from the scene of the accident.
Lampedusa is located between Sicily and North Africa, the island is almost 190 kilometers away from Sfax. Many people keep trying to get to Lampedusa, Malta, Sicily or the Italian mainland by boat from Tunisia and Libya via the central Mediterranean. The Lampedusa reception center was overcrowded several times this summer.
The Ministry of the Interior in Rome counted more than 93,600 people who reached Italy on boats this year – in the same period last year there were around 44,600. Again and again, devastating boat accidents occur when people try to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
