Between 700-900 migrants may have died at sea this week: NGOs
At least 700 migrants may have died at sea this past week in the busiest week of migrant crossings from Libya towards Italy this year, Medecins San Frontieres and the UN Refugee agency said on May 29.
 |
About 14,000 have been rescued since May 23 amid calm seas, and there have been at least three confirmed instances of boats sinking. But the number of dead can only be estimated based on survivor testimony, which is still being collected.
"We will never know exact numbers," Medecins San Frontieres said in a Tweet after estimating that 900 had died during the week. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said more than 700 had drowned.
Migrants interviewed on May 28 in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo told of a large fishing boat that overturned and sank on May 26 with many women and children on board.
Initial estimates were that 400 people died, but the UN Refugee agency said on May 29 there may have been about 670 passengers on board.
According to testimony collected by EU border agency Frontex, when the motorless fishing boat capsized, 25 swam to the boat that had been towing it, while 79-89 others were saved by rescuers and 15 bodies were recovered. This meant more than 550 died, the UNHCR said.
