Eleven dead, over 60 missing as migrant boats capsize off Italy's coast

The vessels, originating from Libya and Türkiye, were carrying migrants from South Asia and the Middle East.

In the first incident, a wooden boat carrying suspected migrants from Libya capsized near the island of Lampedusa. German aid group Resqship reported finding 10 bodies trapped on the flooded lower deck of the vessel. Resqship rescued 51 survivors, one of whom died shortly after being pulled from the water. Two survivors were found unconscious and required immediate medical attention. "They are currently receiving medical attention and await a critically needed emergency evacuation. The 10 dead are in the flooded lower deck of the boat. Our thoughts are with their families. We are angry and sad," Resqship said in a statement.

The boat, according to UN refugee agency UNHCR, International Organization for Migration, and UN children's agency UNICEF, had sailed from Libya and was carrying migrants from Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The second shipwreck occurred east of the Calabria region, involving a vessel that had departed from Türkiye carrying migrants from Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq. This boat caught fire and overturned. The Italian coast guard managed to rescue 11 people, but 64 remain missing.

Shakilla Mohammadi, a staffer with Doctors Without Borders, reported that 66 people were unaccounted for, including at least 26 children, some only a few months old. "Entire families from Afghanistan are presumed dead. They left from Türkiye eight days ago and had taken in water for three or four days. They told us they had no life vests and some vessels didn’t stop to help," she stated.

The survivors from the Calabria shipwreck were taken to the Calabrian port of Roccella Jonica for medical treatment. The tragic incidents underscore the perilous journey many migrants undertake in search of safety and better lives in Europe. (ILKHA)