Day death returned to the Mediterranean
CRAMMED into an overloaded rubber dinghy, frightened migrants plunge into the sea as their journey to a promised new life in Europe turns to terror.
At least seven people – including an eight-year-old boy – drowned in the Mediterranean as their rickety vessels listed and took on water.
More than 6,000 were saved on Friday and Saturday by the Italian coastguard in dozens of operations as the warm weather prompted a surge in migrants making the trip from North Africa. The scenes came after critics accused the European Union of ‘incentivising failure’ by encouraging gangs to put refugees to sea in overcrowded, rickety vessels because they know that if they capsize, EU ships will rescue them.
Aid workers were yesterday struggling to save up to 1,800 more migrants, the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) charity said.
The charity has rescued at least 453. Founder Christopher Catrambone said: ‘It is a miracle we have managed to save everyone.’
At least 97 migrants died on Thursday when their boat sank. Only 23 were rescued. In late February, 87 bodies washed ashore in Libya.
Last month Joseph Walker-Cousins, former head of the British Embassy in Benghazi, warned that more than a million migrants were in Libya waiting to cross to Europe.
So far this year, the United Nations estimates that 32,750 people have arrived in Europe by sea, with about 826 dead or missing.