Death of 10 migrants including women and children in the Mediterranean Sea
Maltese authorities reported the boat to the Italian coastguard as a potential migrant. 8 bodies were found from there. Two people, including a child, died before the rescue operation began.
The Italian Coast Guard has reported the death of 10 migrants, including three women and a child, in the dangerous crossing from Tunisia to Italy in the Mediterranean Sea.
They said on Friday that the bodies of 8 migrants and 42 others were recovered after a small fishing boat washed ashore the previous night.
Among these migrants are citizens of Mali, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Niger, Reuters reported.
Before the rescue operation began, the hands of the dying mother on the boat melted and her four-month-old baby fell into the sea; Another person also disappeared from the boat.
The boat had set sail from Tunisia a few days earlier; All of the bodies recovered are believed to have died of hypothermia.
On Thursday, Maltese authorities notified the Italian coastguard of the boat, which was believed to be carrying migrants; The Mediterranean where the boat was spotted is under the control of Malta.
There used to be a large number of charity boats off the coast of Libya to rescue people from boats hoping to migrate, but a decree by Italy's new government has greatly reduced these numbers and their activities.
“It is unacceptable that another boat has lost its life in Malta's search and rescue area, when it could have been avoided. It's time to stop such painful incidents,” wrote Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Twitter.
A large number of migrants are seen trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Italy this year as well. In the absence of a rescue ship, Italian authorities had to take three other boats carrying 156 people to the island of Lambedusa before dawn on Friday.
"Rescue, bright lights, ambulances, busses taking people away, people's eyes swollen with fear, another night spent saving people. How long will this go? How many more bodies does this island have to accept?,” Lampedusa Mayor Filippo Manino wrote on Facebook.
Most of the migrants flocking to Italy are from North Africa.
So far this year, 4,963 migrants have reached Italy by sea, up from 3,35 in the same period in 2022 and just 1,39 in 2021, according to Italy's Interior Ministry.
In 2022, the number of migrants reached Italy by boat was 1 lakh 5 thousand 140, the previous year this number was 67 thousand 477, in 2020 it was 34 thousand 154.
The United Nations estimates that in 2022 alone, nearly 1,400 migrants died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
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