Rome [Italy], August 24 : Three people died and 65 others were rescued from an overcrowded and flooded rubber boat in the Central Mediterranean, the organisation RESQSHIP said in a statement on Saturday.
The sailing vessel NADIR, operated by RESQSHIP, carried out the rescue after Alarm Phone alerted authorities to the distress case on Friday evening. Around 1 am (local time), the vessel located the boat, which had departed from Zuwara, Libya, the previous day. Survivors said the boat began taking on water just hours after departure, forcing passengers to sit knee-deep in seawater as waves up to 1.5 meters washed over the vessel.
During the evacuation, survivors discovered the bodies of three sisters aged 9, 11 and 17, who had drowned inside the waterlogged boat. Another person is reported missing. Many of the rescued included women, three of them pregnant, children, and a seven-month-old baby. Several also suffered chemical burns caused by a mixture of seawater and petrol inside the boat.
"While we were evacuating the people one by one from the rubber boat onto the NADIR, I suddenly heard screams and someone pointed to the water inside the boat. It became clear that there were bodies underneath the surface," reports Barbara Sartore, Communications Coordinator on board the NADIR, as quoted in the RESQSHIP.
"The boat was dangerously overcrowded, it was pitch-dark, water was flooding in, and people were panicking. In that chaos, it was impossible to see that the three sisters, sitting deep inside the boat, had already drowned. When the survivors realized, it was sheer horror," she added.
As per the statement, the medical team attempted to resuscitate the girls, but in vain. Three other family members, including the mother and a brother, survived. According to the survivors, another person had already gone overboard hours earlier and remains missing. Many of the rescued suffered severe chemical burns caused by the mixture of seawater and petrol inside the boat. They were treated by the medical team on board the NADIR. The crew of the NADIR cared for the survivors throughout the night.
The following morning, their relatives were given time and privacy to grieve and say goodbye to their loved ones. On Saturday afternoon, the Italian Coast Guard evacuated 14 people - medical cases and their relatives - and brought them to Lampedusa. Later that evening, the NADIR also reached the island with the remaining survivors and the deceased.
"What happened to the three sisters is unimaginable, as is the danger that people on the move face in search of safety. Our thoughts are with their relatives, who are bearing this preventable loss and pain. Safe escape routes are urgently needed to finally put an end to the dying in the Mediterranean," said Katja Schnitzer, a crew member of the NADIR.