Hundreds feared dead as boat 'sinks in two minutes'
Insider reporters
|
6 August 2015
ROME -- At least 25 migrants have died and 400 others were rescued by the Italian coast guard and the Irish navy off the Libyan coast, but up to 300 were feared to have perished in the latest tragedy, officials said Thursday.
In all 700 migrants were believed to have been aboard a fishing vessel packed with people trying to reach Italy from north Africa. An Irish Navy vessel, the Niamh, lowered and deployed both of its dinghies to rescue passengers when it came near to the fishing vessel but it then capsized, probably because the migrants crowded in the direction of the rescuers. The boat was said to have sunk in just two minutes.
Following the rescue operation, the Niamh sailed to Sicilian port city Palermo carrying the survivors and the bodies of the drowned. A senior Irish naval officer and his team flew out to provide support to members of the Niamh who had seen the disaster with their very own eyes.
Humanitarian aid NGO Médecins sans frontières were also at the scene with their search and rescue ship, the Dignity I.
"It was a horrific sight; people were desperately clinging to lifebelts, boats and anything they could, fighting for their lives, amidst people drowning, and those who had already died," said the NGO's project coordinator Juan Matías.
Italian navy vessels and a merchant ship joined the search for survivors.
The latest drama came after figures were released showing that more than 2000 people have died between Libya and Italy this year.
jp-gs