Hundreds feared dead after migrant boat capsizes
Almost 400 migrants were rescued from the boat, said to be only fit to carry 40 or 50 people, while the bodies of 24 adults and one child, were recovered from the sea.
Those that were rescued are being brought to the Italian port of Palermo. They are due to arrive some time this morning.
Authorities say that as more time passes the search and rescue operation turns to one of recovery. A spokesperson for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which has deployed vessels to the area the fishing boat sunk, last night said “nobody expects to find anyone [else] alive”.
The craft that capsized, a barge-like fishing boat, is understood to have done so 25 miles off the coast of Libya, to the north-west of the country’s capital, Tripoli. The boat is thought to have left from the Libyan city of Zuwara early yesterday morning.
The LE Niamh was the first vessel to arrive on the scene, at around 11:45am Irish time, after receiving a distress signal roughly four hours previous.
“The LE Niamh got there and, as it would normally do, deployed rigid inflatable boats from the deck of the LE Niamh to go over to the vessel concerned to hand out life jackets and so on,” said defence minister Simon Coveney.
“Whatever happened, unfortunately this was a vessel that was significantly overloaded with people, we think about 700 people, and the vessel destabilised and started taking on water.”
Minister Coveney said the vessel carrying the migrants seemed to sink in “less than two minutes”, meaning many migrants could have lost their lives while been dragged down into the water with the craft and may still be trapped under the sea.
Minister Coveney said his thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost their lives, the survivors and the rescuers “for whom this is an extremely difficult operation”.
He also said there would be “full support services” for the crew on board the LE Niamh to help them after this “very traumatic” operation.
Naval vessels from Italy were also involved, including Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) vessels the MV Dignity I, the Bourbon Argos and the MY Phoenix, which is operated with support from the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (Moas).
Life rafts were air dropped to the migrants while rigid inflatables were also deployed.
Only days ago, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) warned that the death toll of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean this year had reached 2,000 already. The death toll last year, for the whole year, was 3,279.
So far this year, Irish vessels have rescued almost 5,000 migrants in the area.
The migrants are attempting to enter Europe to escape situations such as persecution, war and extreme poverty. Many travel over land for weeks or months from various parts of the continent in order to reach Libya and get a boat to Europe where they hope to find asylum, relatives, or jobs.
As such, the vast majority of the migrants on board may have never seen the sea before, and almost certainly would not have known how to swim.
The Immigrant Council of Ireland said this latest incident shows the need for Irish naval vessels to remain engaged in search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean.
“The numbers reportedly involved in the latest capsize off the Libyan coast show once again the extent of the crisis which is unfolding on Europe’s doorstep,” said Brian Killoran, chief executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland.
“The actions of the LE Niamh and her crew continue to bring pride to Ireland and are a token of the compassionate response people across Ireland want to this crisis.”
He said the council is calling on the Government to commit to continuing the Irish naval operations beyond September.
