Serious Tragedy as Nearly 200 People Trying to Cross to Europe Drown in Mediterranean Sea
A
sad incident has claimed the lives of about 200 migrants trying to
cross to Europe for a better life after they suffered a shipwreck.
Some migrants drown in the Mediterranean sea while trying to cross to Europe
Almost 200 people are feared to have died in two Mediterranean Sea
migrant shipwrecks during the weekend, according to reports on Monday.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Libya said
that seven people were rescued off the north-western city of Zawiya, and
one of them said 113 others were missing.
The information was posted on Twitter and confirmed by an IOM Spokesman in Rome, Flavio Di Giacomo.
Separately, 80 people died on Saturday after the rubber dinghy they
were travelling on overturned, according to the ANSA news agency, which
sourced its report from survivors’ accounts to Italian prosecutors.
The sea channel between Italy and Libya is the world’s busiest and most dangerous sea migration route.
More than 6,600 people were rescued there between Friday and Sunday.
On Sunday, the Head of the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, Filippo Grandi,
said more than 1,150 people died or went missing since the start of the
year in sea crossings to Europe.
Grandi added that the mortality rate on the Libya-Italy route was one in 35.
He praised efforts by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), noting
that they had carried out one third of rescue operations since January
1, and renewed calls for EU authorities to open legal migration channels
to spare people from dangerous sea journeys.
NGOs involvement in sea rescues has become controversial since an
Italian prosecutor accused them of acting in cahoots with Libyan people
smugglers.
The prosecutor says he has suspicions but no proof; the NGOs have rejected all charges.
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