Mediterranean crossing: At least 3 die, including 2 children
The two children were aged 3 and 4 years old, the charity RESQSHIP said, adding that there were 59 survivors. The Mediterranean sea crossing from Libya to Italy has become increasingly dangerous in recent years.
Libyan Red Crescent volunteers were called to the shorelines close to Zawiya in north west Libya to recover the bodies of migrants who had died in the attempt to cross the Mediterranean.
A migrant boat took off from western Libya, headed for Europe, but its engine gave way shortly afterward [FILE: Feb 20, 2017]
Two children, aged 3 and 4, and an adult died during a Mediterranean crossing from Libya to Italy on a frail boat whose engine gave way, a German aid organization has said.
The bodies of the deceased migrants have been brought to land on the Italian island of Lampedusa, the German aid organization RESQSHIP said on Sunday.
The German sea rescue charity said it had rescued 59 survivors from the same boat.
What do we know about the incident?
The migrants were intercepted on Saturday on a rubber dinghy floating adrift south of Lampedusa. The boat’s engine had failed shortly after it took off from western Libya on Wednesday, leaving those on board adrift and exposed to the wind and tide elements for an extended period, according to RESQSHIP.
“By the time [we] reached the rubber boat at around 4.30 p.m. (1430 GMT/UTC), it was too late to help some of the people,” RESQSHIP said in a statement.
“Two bodies of infants aged 3 and 4 were handed over to us,” the charity quoted one of its paramedics as saying. “They had died the day before, probably of thirst.”
A man was unconscious when rescuers arrived on the scene. He was later declared dead after attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful, RESQSHIP said.
Many of the rescued migrants suffered critical injuries, including chemical burns from salt water and fuel.
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