Mediterranean rescue survivors say 60 people died on trip from Libya – charity

SOS Mediterranee said the survivors were all men (Johanna de Tessieres/ SOS Mediterranee via AP)

Survivors aboard a deflating rubber dinghy rescued in the central Mediterranean Sea have reported that some 60 people who departed Libya with them a week ago perished during the journey, the humanitarian rescue group SOS Mediterranee has said.

The European charity’s ship Ocean Viking spotted the dinghy with 25 people on board on Wednesday. Two were unconscious and were evacuated to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, some 60 miles to the north, by an Italian Coast Guard helicopter for treatment. The other 23 were in a serious condition, exhausted, dehydrated and with burns from fuel on board the boat.