[ad_1]
Dozens of bodies were found in the Mediterranean, a day after the sinking that caused the death of 150 migrants.
Eyewitnesses have described harrowing scenes of the sea, in which one top UN official has described as "the worst tragedy in the Mediterranean" so far this year.
Fishermen told AFP that they had seen bodies as they snuck into the wreckage in search of survivors: "Bodies were floating on the surface of the ship. water, where the boat had fallen. "
A survivor, Abdallah Osman, said the boat making the perilous journey from Libya had started filling up with water about 90 minutes after leaving for the sea on Wednesday night. Then his engine broke down.
During the next six hours, men, women and children began to drown.
"Shortly after dawn, the fishermen came out with their small boats and began to take us ashore five at a time … It lasted until nine in the morning," she said. he told AFP.
Around 10:30 am, Anne-Cecilia Kjaer, head of nursing activities at Doctors Without Borders (MSF), arrived at a military base in Khoms, Libya, where the survivors were recovering.
"It was a very, very hot day. People were sitting against a wall to find some shade. They were barely dressed – some wore only a towel or undergarment. They were just sitting in the shadows, in shock.
"A man from Sudan, who was literally out of the water, told our team that he had seen his wife and children drowning. He seemed stunned, just sitting in shock.
Kjaer said the people on board the boat came from Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt and Bangladesh.
Survivors told MSF medical staff that they had left the Libyan coast Wednesday night at sunset, "possibly aboard three boats moored one to the other."
As they continued toward the shore, the boat began to fill with water. "Most children could not swim, and even those who could swim had sunk because of fatigue," said Kjaer.
The sinking of Thursday would be the deadliest crossing of the Mediterranean this year with about 150 dead. Dangerous crossings between North Africa and European shores culminated after the 2011 uprisings in the Middle East.
European Union leaders have made efforts to dissuade migrants and have formed a partnership with the Libyan authorities and have trained and financed the Libyan Coast Guard.
In June, the right-wing Italian government introduced controversial rules banning Italian ports from accessing migrant rescue vessels, threatening offenders with a fine of 50,000 euros (£ 45,000) and seizure. ships.
Human rights groups say the EU's withdrawal from active participation in rescue operations has contributed to deaths in the Mediterranean. Without coordinated rescue efforts from Europe, the victims of the capsizing rely only on coastguards, fishermen and small Libyan volunteer rescue boats.
"Because we do not have the means, we will have to wait until the sea brings us the bodies to be able to recover them," said a member of the coastguard to AFP.
A group of 84 people saved was taken to the Tajoura Detention Center and then fired, said a spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration. Tajoura is at the forefront of violent clashes between rival armed militias. About 60 people were killed in bomb attacks earlier this month. It is believed that some of the rescued persons were released in Tripoli.
Rights organizations fear for the safety of rescued migrants who are sent to detention centers in Libya.
"Given that the international community has very little presence in Libya, which is in a state of total political instability, it is essential that the European states stop relying on the Libyan coastguard to conduct search and rescue operations," he said. said Marta Foresti, director of the human mobility initiative of the Overseas Development Institute think tank.
"You can not even imagine the suffering of these people," said Kjaer. "Once you're in the middle – when you try to put words – then you realize that there are no words to describe their suffering."
Source link
