Forty-one individuals are presumed dead following the capsizing of a migrant boat off the coast of Tunisia in rough seas. The Italian Red Cross and rescue groups have reported this tragic incident, based on information provided by four survivors who were rescued and brought ashore on Wednesday. According to the survivors, they departed from Sfax, Tunisia, on August 3 on a metal boat carrying a total of 45 people. Approximately six hours into their journey, a massive wave caused the vessel to overturn, as reported by RAI state television. The Red Cross has stated that the survivors managed to survive using inner tubes and were able to climb onto another empty vessel nearby. This incident highlights the number of boats leaving Sfax and the adverse weather conditions in the area, which have led to several other boat capsizings.
Photos released by the Sea-Watch humanitarian rescue group, taken by their monitoring aircraft, show the four survivors waving for help from the boat and eventually making their way to a commercial tanker called the Rimona, which flies the Maltese flag. The rescued migrants were then transferred to an Italian coast guard vessel, which brought them to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa on Wednesday, according to Paul Wagner from Sea-Watch. European Union border agency Frontex reported spotting a boat adrift in the Libyan search and rescue region and promptly informed all national rescue coordination centers in the area. Sea-Watch flew to the location, spotted the vessel, and alerted the closest merchant vessel, which happened to be the Rimona, as explained by Wagner.
Based on the GPS location shared by Sea-Watch, the survivors were located inside the Libyan search and rescue zone, approximately 40 miles from Tunisia and 125 miles from Lampedusa. The International Organization for Migration stated that this shipwreck brings the total number of dead and missing individuals in the central Mediterranean this year to over 1,800. This route is considered the most active and dangerous migration path globally. Harsh weather conditions over the weekend resulted in multiple shipwrecks and intense rescue efforts to save survivors. While Italian authorities managed to rescue dozens of migrants from the sea and rocky reefs near Lampedusa, survivors from other capsized vessels reported that at least 30 people were missing.
(Read more Mediterranean Sea stories.)
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