Overview

• Two children, aged 3 and 4, and one adult died during a perilous sea crossing from Libya to Italy; dehydration is suspected as a cause of death for the children.
• ResQship, a German sea rescue charity, saved 59 survivors from the stranded rubber boat south of Lampedusa after it was spotted by an EU Frontex surveillance aircraft.
• The boat, which departed from Zawiya, Libya, suffered engine failure after one day, leaving migrants exposed to harsh conditions for several days.
• Many survivors endured chemical burns from a mixture of salt water and fuel, with two children and four adults in critical condition transferred ashore by the Italian Coast Guard.
• The central Mediterranean route remains one of the deadliest migration paths, with nearly 25,000 deaths or disappearances reported since 2014, including 378 so far this year.