At least 20 migrants died and over a dozen are missing after a boat capsized near Lampedusa, UNHCR said, with 60 survivors rescued and searches ongoing.
A boat carrying over 90 people, capsized off the Italian island of Lempedusa, the United Nations refugee Agency said on Wednesday. At least 20 migrants have been killed and more than a dozen are still missing.
Filippo Ungaro, spokesperson for the UNHCR in Italy said that 60 survivors were bought to a centre in Lempedusa after the incident. The officials have discovered 20 bodies until now. The rescue teams are continuously searching for other 12 to 17 people, who are missing.
The survivors record that the vessel left from Libya with between 92-97 migrants onboard. It is not confirmed for how long they had been at the sea before the incident. The cause of the capsizing is still not determined. These journeys are usually made in overcrowded and unsafe boats, leaving little to no chance of survival in case of an accident.
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The UNHCR reported that before this disaster, there have been at least 675 migrant deaths this year only, attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing. The numbers clearly highlights the current humanitarian crisis faced by people flying poverty and conflict in search of safety in Europe.
The central Mediterranean route, specially the stretch between North Africa and at least Southern Islands is one of the most dangerous migration parts in the world. The migrants usually have to pay large sums to smugglers to get onboard on unseaworthy boats, risking their lives through rough waters with minimal safety measures.
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The tragedy follows another incident which occurred earlier this month. In the early August, 68 African migrants died when their boat overturned of the coast of Southern Yemen. The ongoing disasters is a call for urgent need for stronger international Corporation to get to the root cause of migration and Improve search and rescue operations in high risk waters.
The Lampedusa authorities are assisting the migrants with medical, food, and shelter needs. Many rescued individuals are believed to be from Saharan Africa. However, details about their origin have not yet been confirmed.
