Three migrants were reported missing after jumping into the sea in a desperate attempt to attract the attention of a distant boat, fellow passengers told Italian authorities after being rescued. Their companions arrived in Lampedusa on Thursday, August 7.
Three migrants -- two from Guinea and a minor from Cameroon -- disappeared in choppy waters after jumping into the sea in an attempt to attract the attention of a boat far from the dinghy they were travelling on, their companions said.
The other 49 passengers reported the incident to the Italian coast guard and to staff at the migrant reception hotspot on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, where they were taken after being rescued Thursday in the Strait of Sicily by coast guard personnel.
Eyewitnesses said they had spotted what was likely a fishing vessel and followed it for hours. When their dinghy ran out of fuel, the three migrants tried to swim toward the ship to seek help.
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Migrants taken to Lampedusa, two children at local health clinic
The migrants reached Lampedusa on Thursday after their six-meter-long vessel was rescued by a coast guard cutter. They told crew members that they had departed from El Amra in Tunisia and that they had paid 500 euros each for the journey, which began on Tuesday evening.
Before the three migrants were reported missing, the boat had a total of 52 passengers, including two women, who hailed from Liberia, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Guinea Conakry and Mali, they said.
Among them were two children, who were severely dehydrated when they reached the port and were taken to Lampedusa's health clinic for medical treatment.
The migrants were taken to the island's hotspot, where an additional 55 people arrived on Friday, including a minor. This group was rescued in the night between Thursday and Friday. It included migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, Sudan and Somalia, who said they had departed from Zuwara in Libya after paying between 4,000 and 7,000 dollars each for the journey.
In addition, the fishing vessel Andrea Doria on Thursday rescued two Tunisians on board a rubber kayak that had departed from Kélibia. The pair said they had organized the trip to reach Italy, investing some 1,600 Tunisian dinars.