The humanitarian group Compass Collective said on Wednesday that 44 migrants were missing after a boat capsized off the Italian island of Lampedusa. The fact that 45 people swam in it is known only from the account of the only survivor, an 11-year-old girl who waited for rescue for three days.
“We believe it was only after the boat capsized and the remaining 44 passengers drowned,” the Compass Collective, which participates in migrant rescue missions in the Mediterranean, said in a statement.
Members of the organization were swimming on another rescue mission Tuesday night into Wednesday when they heard the roar of water. They found an 11-year-old girl wearing a life jacket who said she had been at sea for three days.
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Only she survived
“The 11-year-old boy was taken to Lampedusa and after receiving medical attention, he was placed in a migrant center where he is cared for by Red Cross workers and volunteers,” the Red Cross said.
The survivor said she was from Sierra Leone. According to him, a metal boat with 45 migrants left the city of Safakis in Tunisia and sank in a storm.
The International Organization for Migration has reported that “the migration route between Tunisia and Libya, Italy and Malta is one of the most dangerous routes in the world. Since 2014, more than 24,300 people have been killed or disappeared.”
Airport and port in the background Lampedusyinterno.gov.it
Main photo source: interno.gov.it
