At least XNUMX people drowned off the coast of Libya last week after the wreckage of an inflatable carrying migrants, according to survivors who told rescuers in Sicily today.
Volunteers from Doctors for Human Rights (Medu) who were in Pozzalo, Sicily when the Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti arrived, spoke to the survivors of the wreck today. According to them, the inflatable on which they were riding carried 117 people but only 40 of them were saved, which means that the missing are about 70.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said 60 people were missing, also based on survivors' testimonies.
So far these figures have not been confirmed by representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees who were present in Pozzalo when the Italian boat arrived there carrying a total of 500 migrants who were rescued in various operations at sea.
The 40 were rescued by an American ship, the Trenton, whose crew also collected 12 bodies.