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Africa North
6 dead, 110 saved in Mediterranean migrant shipwreck
2020-11-12
[AlAhram] Six people died after a Europe-bound rubber boat carrying 116 migrants colonists and asylum-seekers fell apart in the central Mediterranean Sea, a Spanish humanitarian group said Wednesday.

The Open Arms rescue ship had been searching for the boat in distress for hours before finally locating it Wednesday morning in international waters north of Libya. The NGO had just finished distributing life vests and masks to the passengers to begin transferring them to safety when the flimsy boat split in two, throwing them into cold waters.

Rescuers pulled out 111 people, including two infants, alive and recovered five bodies. But one of the two infants, a six-month-old girl, died after being brought on board the rescue ship, Open Arms tweeted on their official account.

Open Arms spokesperson Laura Lanuza told The AP that the NGO has asked Italian and Maltese maritime authorities for the immediate evacuation of six people at death's door, including two babies and their mothers and a pregnant woman. Lanuza said the NGO had already rescued 88 migrants colonists the night before and was headed to a third distress call.

Wednesday's shipwreck was the second recorded this week in waters north of Libya, a key transit point for migrants colonists from Africa and the Middle East. On Tuesday another 13 migrants colonists died, including a child, the UN said.

So far this year more than 575 people have perished in the Central Mediterranean trying to reach Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Khaama Press adds:
Some 100 people had been travelling for about two days on a dinghy that collapsed in international waters off Libya, where it was assisted by Open Arms, the Spanish NGO said on Wednesday.
Related:
Open Arms : 2019-10-15 EU silent over growing calls from migrant rescue vessels
Open Arms : 2019-10-08 Nine dead as refugee boat sinks off Italian coast
Open Arms : 2019-10-01 One dead, 10 missing after vessel sinks in Atlantic
Posted by:trailing wife

#1  Thought it said 110 enslaved in Mediterranean migrant shipwreck at first. My bad.
Posted by: jpal   2020-11-12 19:37  

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