At least two migrants are dead and around 20 others are missing after their boat sank between Tunisia and Italy. reports the German NGO ResQshipSunday April 9th.
Twenty-two people were also rescued by the Nadir, the NGO’s ship, after the shipwreck that occurred on Saturday night. They landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa on Sunday afternoon, said Stefen Seyfert, one of ResQship’s managers.
Among them were mainly men, women and children from Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Cameroon, said Ingo Werth, the captain of the Nadir, who was on board at the time of the salvage. A pregnant woman was rescued while the bodies were recovered by two men.
According to Mr Seyfert, there were around forty migrants in total on board this boat, which had left Sfax, Tunisia. “We did everything to save more people, but we didn’t succeed,” he added, welcoming the “good cooperation” with the Italian Coast Guard.
Nine women among the survivors
According to the Italian news agency Ansa, nine women are among the survivors and eighteen people have disappeared at sea. They would have paid 3,000 Tunisian dinars (about 900 euros) to board the small boat.
On Saturday, 27 people were killed or missing in two other shipwrecks.
In recent days, thousands of migrants aboard their own or Italian Coast Guard boats have landed on the island of Lampedusa, off the east coast of Tunisia.
Italy’s geographic location makes it a prime destination for asylum seekers crossing into Europe from North Africa. Rome has long complained about the number of arrivals on its territory.
According to Italy’s Interior Ministry, more than 14,000 migrants have landed in Italy since the beginning of the year, compared with just over 5,300 in the same period last year and 4,300 in 2021.