22:55 – Off the coast of Libya, a miraculous, two dead and many questions



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Rescuers from the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms found a woman still alive and two bodies on the remains of a rubber boat Tuesday off Libya, and accused the Libyan coastguard, who The boat was completely deflated and only a few boards still floated about 80 nautical miles north-east of Tripoli.

Spanish rescuers, back on area after weeks of absence, had visited the scene after hearing on Monday evening radio exchanges between a Panamanian freighter and the star "Ras Jedir" Libyan coastguard about a boat in distress. [19659002] The Spanish NGO accuses the Libyans of recovering the migrants who were on board but of having abandoned the two women and the child.

Questioned by AFP, the Coast Guard denied, baduring that the two rescue operations on the first boat, 158 people were recovered 16 miles offshore from Khoms, relatively far from the area where the raft was spotted. The second was rescued by the star "Ras Jedir" on the night of Monday to Tuesday 76 miles north of Garaboulli, very close to where the raft was found.

There were 165 migrants on this second boat, including 34 women and 12 children, who drifted since Saturday, more than 60 hours without water or food, said the coastguard, adding to have recovered the dead body of a girl aged one month

In a statement, however, the Coast Guard recalled their lack of means, especially for night watch and rescue.

In general, the latter do not bring back the bodies of the migrants found dead at sea Having rarely the means to recover the people with the water, they explain to concentrate their efforts on the living ones, and are also confronted to the refusal of the authorities in Tripoli to take these bodies in charge at the arrival to the port, for lack of place in morgues or Cemeteries.

– "Closed Ports, Open Hearts" –

Whether she was left to her fate by the Libyans or she is the only survivor of a new shipwreck, the woman who survived is a Cameroonian 40 years old and named Josepha

According to the medical team aboard the Open Arms, one of the two ships of the Spanish NGO, she is in hypothermia and in shock, but stable. However, she needs medical and psychological care "as quickly as possible."

The medical team also recommended a quick transfer of the two bodies, as the boat did not have a cold room. According to the rescuers, the woman had been dead for hours at the time of their arrival, but the child only recently.

Tuesday night, the Open Arms was heading north, hoping to find a port for the miracle and the two corpses. But he intended to avoid Italian waters: in March, the ship was placed in receivership for a month on charges of badisting illegal immigration.

The Astral boat, the second ship of the NGO, is in However, it has remained in the relief zone, where the work of NGOs is severely limited by the steadfastness of Italy, which refuses to receive rescued migrants, and Malta, which prohibits stopovers.

"That they save time and money, they will see the Italian ports only postcard, "repeated Tuesday morning the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, the leader of the Italian far right. [19659002ThephotosoftheraftandinparticularofthedeadchildhoweverprovokedstrongreactionsinItaly"Salvinithat'swhattheLibyancoastguardsdowhentheydoahumanitarianrescue"exclaimedErasmoPalazzottoanItalianleft-wingMPontheOpenArms

The minister responded by denouncing "Lies and insults" and reaffirming: "Reducing departures and landings means reducing the number of deaths and reducing the profits of those who speculate on illegal immigration, I hold on, with closed ports and open hearts." 19659019] © 2018 AFP. All rights of reproduction and representation reserved. All information reproduced in this section (news, photos, logos) is protected by intellectual property rights held by AFP. Therefore, none of this information may be reproduced, modified, reposted, translated, exploited commercially or reused in any way without the prior written consent of AFP.

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