Med Sea shipwreck survivors land safely in Sicily

Crew members of the Italian navy destroyer Mimbelli carrying a person on a stretcher after survivors were rescued at the site where a boat carrying over 600 migrants capsized in the Mediterranean off the Libyan coast. AFP PHOTO | MARINA MILITARE

What you need to know:

  • Irish patrol vessel Niamh, first on the scene of the disaster, was headed to Palermo with 367 survivors, including 12 women and 13 children, as well as 25 bodies.
  • Six migrants including a feverish one-year-old baby and a man with a broken leg were in need of urgent medical attention.
  • Many migrants cannot swim, making it a race against time for rescue workers trying to pull them from the water.
  • Italy, one of the countries bearing the brunt of the crisis, has pleaded repeatedly for resources to deal with the wave of boats.

ROME

Survivors of a shipwreck off the coast of Libya in which 200 migrants were feared drowned were being brought to safety in Sicily.

Their fishing boat, believed to have been carrying over 600 people, ran into difficulties about 15 nautical miles off Libya on Wednesday and overturned when rescuers approached, when frantic migrants rushed to one side in desperation to be saved.

Irish patrol vessel Niamh, first on the scene of the disaster, was headed to Palermo with 367 survivors, including 12 women and 13 children, as well as 25 bodies.

The Italian coastguard said the search for the remaining survivors continued throughout the night and would be carried out all day.

Six migrants in need of urgent medical attention, including a feverish one-year-old baby and a man with a broken leg, were transported by helicopter to the Italian island of Lampedusa, according to the UNHCR.

It is not the first time a boat making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean has overturned.

MANY CANNOT SWIM

Many migrants cannot swim, making it a race against time for rescue workers trying to pull them from the water.

“It was a horrific sight, people desperately clinging to lifebelts, boats and anything they could, fighting for their lives, amidst drowning and those who had already died,” Mr Juan Matias, a project coordinator for MSF said.

The MSF boat Dignity One was the second vessel at the scene and helped rescue panicky women, children and men.

It was on its way to help another boat in trouble with 94 people.

“The fact that we were first called to assist this boat and then shortly afterwards sent to another one highlights severe lack of resources or rescue operations,” Mr Matias said.

Over 2,000 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean this year.

Italy, one of the countries bearing the brunt of the crisis, has pleaded repeatedly for resources to deal with the wave of boats.