Dozens of migrants die aboard migrant boat in Mediterranean Sea

By Susy Hodges

The migrants set off a week ago from the Libyan port of Zawiya to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. Three days into the crossing, the dinghy’s engine broke down, leaving the dinghy adrift without food or water. 

The survivors said at least 60 people perished on the way, including women and several children.

A spokesperson for the charity rescue group SOS Mediterranée, which picked up the migrants, said a survivor recounted how he lost his wife and one and a half-year-old baby. He said the infant died on the first day and the mother on the fourth day.

Survivors said the bodies of those who died were thrown into the sea. They spoke of seeing planes and helicopters fly overhead, but claimed their calls for help went unanswered. 

The migrants were picked up by SOS Mediterranée’s Ocean Viking vessel.

Two of the survivors who were unconscious were flown by helicopter to the Italian island of Sicily for emergency medical treatment.  

The charity said the Ocean Viking later rescued a total of 224 migrants in two separate operations.

The central Mediterranean is one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes.

According to the U.N. migration agency (IOM) almost 2,500 people died while trying to cross over to Europe from North Africa in 2023.  That made it the deadliest year for migrants in that area since records began a decade ago.

Italy and other European Union governments are trying to curb the number of migrants making the risky crossing and have offered money or equipment to Libya and Tunisia to stop departures from their shores.

The IOM said it was deeply troubled by this latest migrant boat disaster and said urgent action is needed to strengthen maritime patrols and prevent further tragedies.