A migrant boat that capsized in Malta's Search and Rescue zone claimed the lives of two children, while 17 others were rescued, including a pregnant woman and a critically injured man. Two individuals are still believed to be missing at sea.
Seventeen migrants were rescued following a shipwreck in the Mediterranean, but two children lost their lives, the German NGO Sea Punks reported on Sunday (January 26).
The rescue occurred early Sunday morning within Malta's Search and Rescue (SAR) zone, according to a statement from Sea Punks. One child was found deceased, while the Sea Punks medical team performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on two other children, successfully saving one.
A Maltese rescue helicopter airlifted a pregnant woman and a severely injured man, while an Italian coastguard vessel rescued the remaining 15 survivors and recovered the bodies of the two children.
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According to Sea Punks, survivors recounted that the boat originally carried 21 people, leaving two individuals unaccounted for. No further information was available at the time.
Earlier reports from the Italian news agency ANSA indicated that 15 migrants had been rescued, three were confirmed dead, and three others were still missing.
The migration route from North Africa to Southern Europe is considered one of the most dangerous in the world. Over the past decade, nearly 24,500 people have lost their lives or gone missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
A significant number of these deaths have been linked to small, overcrowded boats departing from the shores of Tunisia and Libya.
With Reuters