Latest news with #Lampedusa
Associated Press
12-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
2 small children die in Mediterranean migration voyage, charity says
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Four people, including two small children, have died during a migration voyage in the Mediterranean, a German charity involved in their rescue said. The nonprofit group RESQSHIP said that dozens of migrants had departed western Libya on a flimsy rubber boat with a failing engine. Three days later, on Saturday afternoon, the group's civilian vessel NADIR found 62 of them in international waters where Malta is responsible for search and rescue. By the time the group reached them, two children aged 3 and 4 were dead and a third person was found unconscious and died, it said. Survivors also reported that a fourth person had drowned during the journey. An Italian coast guard vessel arrived four hours later, according to the German charity, and evacuated six people in critical condition, including two babies and their mothers, as their boat was already full with other rescued migrants. The rest of the survivors, many suffering from skin burns caused by the harmful mixture of sea water and fuel, were taken to the Italian island of Lampedusa. 'This tragedy could have been avoided. It is yet another example of the failure of European migration policies,' RESQSHIP said in a statement. 'Instead of coordinating support and facilitating safe passages, Europe is abandoning defenceless people – with deadly consequences. Children dying of thirst on the move is an inexcusable political failure.' Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and the Maltese Armed Forces did not immediately return questions sent by email from The Associated Press. The Mediterranean Sea is the world's deadliest migration route with nearly 32,000 recorded fatalities since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration. This year alone, at least 565 migrants have died on the sea crossing to Europe. — Follow AP's global migration coverage at
Arab News
11-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
At least three die, including two children, in Libya-Italy crossing
ROME: At least three people have died, including two children aged 3 and 4, in a Mediterranean sea crossing from Libya to Italy, a German sea rescue charity said on Sunday, adding that it had rescued 59 survivors. The migrants were intercepted on Saturday on a rubber boat floating adrift south of the Italian island of Lampedusa that had been spotted by a surveillance aircraft of the EU border agency Frontex. 'By the time (we) reached the rubber boat at around 4.30pm (1430 GMT), it was too late to help some of the people,' the RESQSHIP charity said in a statement. 'Two bodies of infants aged 3 and 4 were handed over to us,' the charity quoted one of its paramedics identified only as Rania as saying. 'They had died the day before, probably of thirst.' A man was found unconscious and declared dead after attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful, RESQSHIP said, adding that it was told by survivors that another migrant had drowned on Friday after going overboard. Many of the survivors, who were taken to Lampedusa, suffered chemical burns from salt water and fuel, the group said. Two children and four adults in critical condition were handed over to the Italian coast guard to be brought ashore more quickly. The rubber boat had set off from the port of Zawiya in western Libya on Wednesday, but its engine failed after one day of navigation, leaving the migrants on board exposed to wind and weather, the NGO said. Lampedusa lies between Tunisia, Malta and the larger Italian island of Sicily and is the first port of call for many migrants seeking to reach the EU from North Africa, in what has become one of the world's deadliest sea crossings. Almost 25,000 migrants have died or gone missing on this central Mediterranean route since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration, including around 1,700 last year and 378 so far this year.
The Independent
11-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Two children dead after rubber dinghy floats adrift in Mediterranean for days
Two children have died when their rubber dinghy crossing to Italy broke down and floated adrift for days on the Mediterranean. The infants aged three and four, died 'probably of thirst' a German sea rescue charity said on Sunday, adding that it had rescued 59 survivors from the stranded vessel. The refugees and migrants were located on a rubber boat south of the Italian island of Lampedusa that had been spotted by a surveillance aircraft of the EU border agency Frontex. "By the time [we] reached the rubber boat at around 4.30pm, it was too late to help some of the people," the RESQSHIP charity said in a statement. "Two bodies of infants aged three and four were handed over to us," the charity quoted one of its paramedics identified only as Rania as saying. "They had died the day before, probably of thirst." A man was found unconscious and declared dead after attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful, RESQSHIP said, adding that it was told by survivors that another migrant had drowned on Friday after going overboard. On board were 62 people, including 17 women, two babies and four small children. The rubber boat had left Zawiyah in Libya three days earlier. With the engine having failed two days the people onboard were exposed to wind and weather. 'Many had extensive burns from the toxic mixture of salt water and fuel', reports Hannah, a doctor on board the NADIR. 'Women were particularly affected because they were sitting inside the zodiac where the liquid accumulates.' Two children and four adults in critical condition were handed over to the Italian coast guard to be brought ashore more quickly. Lampedusa lies between Tunisia, Malta and the larger Italian island of Sicily and is the first port of call for many refugees and migrants seeking to reach the EU from North Africa, in what has become one of the world's deadliest sea crossings. Almost 25,000 migrants have died or gone missing on this central Mediterranean route since 2014, according to the International Organisation for Migration, including around 1,700 last year and 378 so far this year.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
At least three die, including two children, in Libya-Italy crossing, NGO says
ROME (Reuters) - At least three people have died, including two children aged 3 and 4, in a Mediterranean sea crossing from Libya to Italy, a German sea rescue charity said on Sunday, adding that it had rescued 59 survivors. The migrants were intercepted on Saturday on a rubber boat floating adrift south of the Italian island of Lampedusa that had been spotted by a surveillance aircraft of the EU border agency Frontex. "By the time (we) reached the rubber boat at around 4.30pm (1430 GMT), it was too late to help some of the people," the RESQSHIP charity said in a statement. "Two bodies of infants aged 3 and 4 were handed over to us," the charity quoted one of its paramedics identified only as Rania as saying. "They had died the day before, probably of thirst." A man was found unconscious and declared dead after attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful, RESQSHIP said, adding that it was told by survivors that another migrant had drowned on Friday after going overboard. Many of the survivors, who were taken to Lampedusa, suffered chemical burns from salt water and fuel, the group said. Two children and four adults in critical condition were handed over to the Italian coast guard to be brought ashore more quickly. The rubber boat had set off from the port of Zawiya in western Libya on Wednesday, but its engine failed after one day of navigation, leaving the migrants on board exposed to wind and weather, the NGO said. Lampedusa lies between Tunisia, Malta and the larger Italian island of Sicily and is the first port of call for many migrants seeking to reach the EU from North Africa, in what has become one of the world's deadliest sea crossings. Almost 25,000 migrants have died or gone missing on this central Mediterranean route since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration, including around 1,700 last year and 378 so far this year.
Reuters
11-05-2025
- General
- Reuters
At least three die, including two children, in Libya-Italy crossing, NGO says
ROME, May 11 (Reuters) - At least three people have died, including two children aged 3 and 4, in a Mediterranean sea crossing from Libya to Italy, a German sea rescue charity said on Sunday, adding that it had rescued 59 survivors. The migrants were intercepted on Saturday on a rubber boat floating adrift south of the Italian island of Lampedusa that had been spotted by a surveillance aircraft of the EU border agency Frontex. "By the time (we) reached the rubber boat at around 4.30pm (1430 GMT), it was too late to help some of the people," the RESQSHIP charity said in a statement. "Two bodies of infants aged 3 and 4 were handed over to us," the charity quoted one of its paramedics identified only as Rania as saying. "They had died the day before, probably of thirst." A man was found unconscious and declared dead after attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful, RESQSHIP said, adding that it was told by survivors that another migrant had drowned on Friday after going overboard. Many of the survivors, who were taken to Lampedusa, suffered chemical burns from salt water and fuel, the group said. Two children and four adults in critical condition were handed over to the Italian coast guard to be brought ashore more quickly. The rubber boat had set off from the port of Zawiya in western Libya on Wednesday, but its engine failed after one day of navigation, leaving the migrants on board exposed to wind and weather, the NGO said. Lampedusa lies between Tunisia, Malta and the larger Italian island of Sicily and is the first port of call for many migrants seeking to reach the EU from North Africa, in what has become one of the world's deadliest sea crossings. Almost 25,000 migrants have died or gone missing on this central Mediterranean route since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration, including around 1,700 last year and 378 so far this year.
