The boat, having embarked from Zuwara in Libya, began to take on water shortly after departure. According to RESQSHIP, the sisters, aged nine, 11, and 17, were drowned by the time the rescue crew began evacuating survivors. Barbara Sartore, the communications coordinator for the Nadir rescue ship, recounted the chilling moment the bodies were discovered—submerged beneath the waves in a crowd of frightened passengers. “The boat was dangerously overcrowded, it was pitch-dark, water was flooding in, people were panicking,” Sartore noted. Amidst the chaos, the presence of the sisters went unnoticed until it was too late.
The survivors reported suffering from severe chemical burns, a consequence of water mixing with petrol onboard, necessitating urgent medical attention. While the Italian coastguard managed to evacuate 14 people, the rescue ship later arrived to transport the remaining survivors and recover the bodies of the sisters.
This tragic event sheds light on the ongoing plight of those fleeing violence and hardship in search of a better life, with UN agencies reporting over 700 migrant deaths in the Mediterranean this year alone. Calls for increased search and rescue operations are growing, emphasizing the need for enhanced safety for vulnerable individuals seeking refuge.
The nationalities of the sisters and the other survivors have not been disclosed, but their story reflects the desperate circumstances facing many migrants attempting the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean, where peril and loss continue to dominate countless lives.
The survivors reported suffering from severe chemical burns, a consequence of water mixing with petrol onboard, necessitating urgent medical attention. While the Italian coastguard managed to evacuate 14 people, the rescue ship later arrived to transport the remaining survivors and recover the bodies of the sisters.
This tragic event sheds light on the ongoing plight of those fleeing violence and hardship in search of a better life, with UN agencies reporting over 700 migrant deaths in the Mediterranean this year alone. Calls for increased search and rescue operations are growing, emphasizing the need for enhanced safety for vulnerable individuals seeking refuge.
The nationalities of the sisters and the other survivors have not been disclosed, but their story reflects the desperate circumstances facing many migrants attempting the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean, where peril and loss continue to dominate countless lives.
