Scores of migrants die in overcrowded Mediterranean ship
AUGUST 15, 2015 : AFP
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At least 40 migrants died Saturday in the hold of an
overcrowded smuggling boat in the Mediterranean Sea north of
Libya, apparently killed by fuel fumes, the rescue ship’s
commander said.
Migrants by the tens of thousands are braving the perilous
journey across the Mediterranean this year, hoping to reach
Europe and be granted asylum. They are fleeing war,
persecution and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
“The dead were found in the hold,” Cmdr. Massimo Tosi,
speaking from the navy ship Cigala Fulgosi while the rescue was
still ongoing. Asked by RaiNews24 how the migrants died, Tosi
said “it appears to be from inhaling exhaust fumes.”
Tosi said the survivors included 45 women and three children.
When rescuers stepped aboard, the bodies of migrants were
“lying in water, fuel, human excrement” in the hold, Tosi said,
adding that among the survivors, “women were crying for their
husbands (and) their children who died in the crossing.”
Prior to Saturday’s disaster, at least 2,100 migrants died at sea
this year trying to make the crossing from the shores of Libya,
where human traffickers are based, to Italy. Migration
organizations say the Libya-to-Italy crossing is by far the
deadliest. The exact toll of dead will never be known, as some
boats are believed by authorities to have gone down at sea
without rescuers being aware of them.
The number of migrants trying to reach Europe by sea is on
track to hit a record this year, according to the Geneva-based
International Organization for Migration.
Greece has reported 134,988 arrivals from Turkey this year, the
group said, while Italy recorded more than 100,000 migrants
rescued at sea by mid-August. Along with other migrants
landing in Spain and Malta, that makes over 243,000 people
crossing so far this year – compared to 219,000 for all of 2014.
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At least 40 migrants died Saturday in the hold of an
overcrowded smuggling boat in the Mediterranean Sea north of
Libya, apparently killed by fuel fumes, the rescue ship’s
commander said.
Migrants by the tens of thousands are braving the perilous
journey across the Mediterranean this year, hoping to reach
Europe and be granted asylum. They are fleeing war,
persecution and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
“The dead were found in the hold,” Cmdr. Massimo Tosi,
speaking from the navy ship Cigala Fulgosi while the rescue was
still ongoing. Asked by RaiNews24 how the migrants died, Tosi
said “it appears to be from inhaling exhaust fumes.”
Tosi said the survivors included 45 women and three children.
When rescuers stepped aboard, the bodies of migrants were
“lying in water, fuel, human excrement” in the hold, Tosi said,
adding that among the survivors, “women were crying for their
husbands (and) their children who died in the crossing.”
Prior to Saturday’s disaster, at least 2,100 migrants died at sea
this year trying to make the crossing from the shores of Libya,
where human traffickers are based, to Italy. Migration
organizations say the Libya-to-Italy crossing is by far the
deadliest. The exact toll of dead will never be known, as some
boats are believed by authorities to have gone down at sea
without rescuers being aware of them.
The number of migrants trying to reach Europe by sea is on
track to hit a record this year, according to the Geneva-based
International Organization for Migration.
Greece has reported 134,988 arrivals from Turkey this year, the
group said, while Italy recorded more than 100,000 migrants
rescued at sea by mid-August. Along with other migrants
landing in Spain and Malta, that makes over 243,000 people
crossing so far this year – compared to 219,000 for all of 2014.
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