At Least 20 Migrants Missing As Boat Sinks Off Italy
(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Seven migrants were rescued, but at least 20 are missing after
their boat sank en route to Italy from Libya, the mayor of the
Italian island of Lampedusa said on Wednesday,
Azernews reports.
Amongst those saved was an 8-year-old Syrian boy, hoping to join
his father who lives in Germany. He was accompanied by his mother
on the perilous trip, but she has not been seen since the boat sank
on Tuesday.
Survivors, who were brought to Lampedusa, said the missing
included five women and three children.
“They didn't make it to shore. Knowing that these poor souls
were so close, but couldn't make it is even more heartbreaking,”
said mayor Filippo Mannino.
The small boat set sail from the Libyan town of Zuwara late on
Monday but got into difficulty in the early hours of Tuesday and
flipped over. No bodies have yet been retrieved.
The sea migration route between Africa and Europe is one of the
most dangerous in the world, with almost 24,500 disappearing or
dying in the central Mediterranean since 2014, according to the
International Organization for Migration.
Most of those deaths occurred on boats that set sail from Libya
and Tunisia.
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