Migrants, shipwreck within the Mediterranean: just one survivor | EUROtoday

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There is a person in hospital in Malta, admitted to obtain remedy after spending 24 hours at sea clinging to wreckage of the boat with which he left Tunisia. The man, rescued in worldwide waters by the motor ship Star, stated that at the very least 50 individuals – who had been with him – died final Friday in a shipwreck within the central Mediterranean, of which he could be the one survivor.

Since the night of Friday 23 January, the Lampedusa port authority has additionally searched the world the place the shipwreck allegedly occurred – confirmed by the Valletta authorities – however to no avail. The survivor stated that the group of migrants, having left the coast of Tunisia, sailed for twenty-four hours earlier than taking over water. Alarm Phone has been reporting for days that it has not heard from individuals who left Tunisia on three boats.

They presumably died off the coast of Lampedusabased on latest reconstructions, too two one-year-old twins from Guineaafter the overcrowded boat they had been touring on was put to the take a look at by Cyclone Harry which hit the Mediterranean. This was stated by Nicola Dell’Arciprete – Unicef ​​coordinator for the migrant and refugee response in Italy – who expressed his “deepest condolences to the family members and all the people affected by this tragedy”. The two women had been touring in an iron boat, simply 9 meters lengthy, which left Sfax, Tunisia, on Wednesday 21 January. After nearly two days of navigation in troublesome situations, 61 individuals – considered one of whom later died – had been rescued by the Italian Coast Guard. An incident which highlights – underlines Dell’Arciprete – “not only the extreme risks that girls, boys and families run when they cross the Mediterranean, but also the desperation of these families in wanting to reach a safer place”.

According to an evaluation byUnicef 2025, roughly one baby per day dies or disappears making an attempt to cross the central Mediterranean from Africa to Europe. “Many shipwrecks leave no survivors or are not recorded,” remembers Unicef. “This means that the real number of people, including minors, who have died or disappeared is practically impossible to verify and is probably much higher,” stories Dell’Arciprete.

In the night time between Saturday and Sunday the ship Sea-Watch 5 rescued 18 migrants who had been on board a small boat in issue, within the Libyan SAR space. Among them are two young children. The port assigned for disembarkation is Catania “where we will arrive tomorrow”, says the NGO.