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1h ago

Three Sisters Found Dead on Migrant Dinghy as Rescuers Save Dozens off Libya

RESQSHIP reported discovering the girls in a flooded rubber boat after pulling roughly 65 people to safety.

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LAMPEDUSA, ITALY - MAY 24: Refugees and migrants put on life jackets distributed by rescue crews of the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) 'Phoenix' vessel on May 24, 2017 off Lampedusa, Italy. The boat, one of three in the area later capsized killing more than 30 people, crewmembers from the 'Phoenix' rescued 603 people. Numbers of refugees and migrants attempting the dangerous central Mediterranean crossing from Libya to Italy has risen since the same time last year with more than 43,000 people recorded so far in 2017. In an attempt to slow the flow of migrants Italy recently signed a deal with Libya, Chad and Niger outlining a plan to increase border controls and add new reception centers in the African nations, which are key transit points for migrants heading to Italy. MOAS is a Malta based NGO dedicated to providing professional search-and-rescue assistance to refugees and migrants in distress at sea. Since the start of the year MOAS have rescued and assisted 3572 people and are currently patrolling and running rescue operations in international waters off the coast of Libya. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • RESQSHIP’s vessel Nadir intercepted the dinghy after an Alarm Phone alert following its departure from Zuwara, Libya.
  • The bodies of the sisters, aged 9, 11 and 17 and reported to be from Sudan, were found inside an overcrowded, partially deflated boat in rough seas.
  • Survivors included the girls’ mother and brother, along with pregnant women and many children, with several people medically evacuated to Lampedusa.
  • At least one person was reported missing after falling overboard earlier in the crossing, with AP citing a fourth person missing at sea.
  • The incident fits a deadly pattern on the central Mediterranean route, which the IOM says has claimed more than 30,000 lives since 2014, as NGOs continue rescues and report abuses by Libyan coast guards.