June 18 – Rescuers from the German aid group ResQship made a grim discovery while aiding migrants on a wooden boat off Lampedusa. They found 10 bodies below deck, according to a post on X by the charity.
The crew aboard ResQship’s vessel, the Nadir, is currently caring for 51 rescued individuals. “The rescue came too late for 10 people,” the German charity said.
“A total of 61 people were on the wooden boat, which was full of water. Our crew was able to evacuate 51 people, two of whom were unconscious – they had to be cut free with an axe,” it stated.
The charity noted that the 10 deceased individuals were found in the flooded lower deck of the boat. Two survivors were unconscious and receiving medical attention, with an urgent need for emergency evacuation. ResQship did not specify the exact location or timing of the rescue operation, but according to the marinetraffic.com tracking service, the Nadir was off the eastern Tunisian port of Sfax on Monday.
Separate Shipwreck Off Calabria
In a separate incident, Italy’s coastguard is conducting a search operation off Calabria after a shipwreck, with media reports indicating that up to 60 migrants may be missing, according to survivors.
The coastguard reported that the search for possible missing persons began last night following the shipwreck of a sailing boat with migrants on board, presumably departing from Turkey.
Rescue efforts commenced after a “mayday” call from a French pleasure boat sailing off the Italian coast alerted authorities to the presence of the half-sunken vessel. The French boat rescued 12 surviving migrants and transferred them to an Italian coastguard boat, which transported them to Roccella Ionica in southern Italy.
Tragically, one of the 12 survivors died after disembarking, according to the coastguard.
ANSA news agency reported that around 50 migrants were missing following the shipwreck, while Radio Radicale put the number at 64, adding that those lost at sea were from Afghanistan and Iran.
The UN has registered more than 20,000 deaths and disappearances in the central Mediterranean since 2014, making it the most dangerous migrant crossing in the world.