The migrant-rescue vessel Life Support, operated by the medical charity Emergency, reached the Sicilian port of Augusta on Sunday, June 29, after retrieving the bodies of two migrants from the sea off Libya on Friday, June 27.
The lifeless bodies of two migrants retrieved in international waters in the Libyan search and rescue zone on Friday, June 27, by the migrant-rescue ship Life Support operated by the medical humanitarian charity Emergency reached the Sicilian port of Augusta at 1 pm on June 29.
The ship's captain Augusto Candido said it was the "first time that the Life Support [had] retrieved bodies instead of rescuing people and it was a very difficult experience for crew members. But we are ready to set sail again for a new search and rescue mission, to save human lives."
Read AlsoThe psychiatrist's tale: 'I try and introduce myself as a person, not as a doctor'
Four bodies still at sea
The alarm was raised on Thursday, June 26, by the migrant-rescue vessel Sea-Watch after its aircraft Seabird filmed one of the bodies and saw five others in international waters, in the Libyan SAR (search and rescue) zone.
"We are at sea to rescue lives, it is truly painful that we have to retrieve bodies," observed Anabel Montes Mier, the Life Support's mission chief.
"We don't know what happened, but we can suppose that a vessel in distress sank unbeknownst to us, or that the case was reported but remained without an answer for too many days, or that Libyan coast guards or other Libyans intercepted it and that some people were thrown into the sea so they wouldn't have to be taken back to Libya," she noted.
"What we know for sure, instead, is that it is inhumane for Italy and Europe to hand over the management of migrant flows to third countries that systematically violate the human rights of people on the move," added Mier.
Given the advanced decomposition of the bodies, officials couldn't initially determine their gender.
"We can presume that they remained at sea for at least a week, given their condition," stated Umberto Marzi, a doctor on board the Life Support.
Read AlsoEU urges Libya to combat Mediterranean migrant sea crossings
30,000 landings on Italy's coasts in first half the year
Meanwhile, the interior ministry has recorded an increase in landings this year after a decrease reported in 2024: 30,000 migrants landed in the first half of the year, an additional 5,000 compared to the same period in 2024.
The great majority of departures were from Libya, according to the data.
The 30,000 who arrived by sea in the first six months of this year were a far cry from the 60,000 registered in the same period in 2023, but the ministry has been concerned over the past few months due to the difficult situation in Libya where militias are in conflict and human traffickers are carrying on their dealings with little control.
One-third of migrants who reached Italy in the first six months of this year hailed from Bangladesh (9,691). Eritreans numbered (4,338), Egyptians (3,516) and Pakistanis (2,619) followed. Arrivals from sub-Saharan African countries were more limited.