Around 150 migrants are feared dead after a boat capsized off Libya yesterday afternoon, highlighting the major risk of boat crossings in the Mediterranean despite scaled-up rescue attempts.
Survivors said there were some 550 people on board and nearly 400 had been rescued. By last night, 25 migrants were confirmed dead. The UN refugee agency said 100 of the asylum seekers were in the hull, giving them almost no hope of survival.
The UNHCR said the boat had been packed with people “in every nook and cranny”.
The boat is believed to have capsized very fast. The incident took place 15 nautical miles north of Zuwarah, a main departure point for migrants wanting to flee to Europe.
A distress call was picked up by the coastguard in Catania, Sicily, and two vessels – the Médecins Sans Frontières rescue vessel Dignity and Irish patrol vessel Le Niamh – were immediately dispatched to the scene.
Although details were still unclear as of last night, the boat is believed to have capsized after migrants rushed to one side as mobile units from the Irish rescue carrier approached.
Last night, eight vessels, including the Malta-based Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), an aircraft and a helicopter were taking part in the rescue operation.
If the number of dead is confirmed, this will be the biggest migrant tragedy since some 800 migrants drowned in a single shipwreck off Lampedusa in April. The incident triggered a major EU effort to beef up rescue operations closer to Libya, from which many are fleeing.
A crew member of the MOAS vessel Phoenix keeps a sharp lookout.‘100 asylum seekers were in the hull’
Before yesterday’s incident, more than 2,000 people had died trying to cross the Mediterranean into Europe this year.
The boat had been packed with people in every nook and cranny
Around 98,000 refugees and migrants have crossed the central Mediterranean and arrived in Italy so far this year.
In a statement last night, Amnesty International said European governments must do more to provide safe and legal ways for people in need of protection to enter the EU, rather than risking their lives at sea in their thousands.