Three young sisters, aged 9, 11, and 17, have tragically drowned while crossing the central Mediterranean in an overcrowded rubber boat carrying migrants from Zuwara, Libya, according to German rescue charity RESQSHIP.
The boat, packed with around 65 people, began taking on water after being hit by waves up to 1.5 metres high. During the rescue operation in the dark, rescuers only discovered the sisters’ bodies when survivors pointed to the water inside the boat. “In that chaos, it was impossible to see that the three sisters… had already drowned,” said Barbara Sartore, a coordinator onboard RESQSHIP’s rescue vessel, Nadir.
Among those rescued were the girls’ mother and brother, three pregnant women, and a seven-month-old baby. Several survivors suffered chemical burns from a mix of seawater and petrol, while one person remains missing.
The Italian coastguard evacuated 14 people to Lampedusa, with the Nadir later arriving with the rest of the survivors and the bodies of the three girls.
UN agencies report that over 700 people have died crossing the central Mediterranean this year, and are urging for more robust search and rescue efforts to protect migrants attempting this perilous journey.
