Europe: Monday, 5th September 2016 5:00 A.M., saw an overloaded boat in Mediterranean Sea 12 miles off Libya, carrying hundreds of migrants, capsize sending its people overboard and resulting in the death of 7 people. A rescue vessel operated by MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) was radioed by the Italian Coast Guard and reached the scene around 5.30 A.M.. Over the following three hours, more than a 1000 people were rescued including three babies which were held above the water by their parents in the middle of the dinghy.
The dinghy itself was dangerously overloaded. MOAS on board Operations Officer Marco Cauchi said, “Today it was intense for the fact the rubber boats were jam-packed… they put as many people as they can… they put in 160 people it was incredible.” These dinghies’, which can actually hold a maximum of 100 people, fuel engine had ruptured sending fumes into the air and fuel into the sea. Some of the migrants were reported to have inhaled the smoke when they fell into the water and began to lose consciousness. The Responder ship, therefore, had to struggle to round up all the panic stricken migrants many of whom could not swim. But at the end of the mission, drifting out in the sea, a number of dead bodies could be seen. With as much dignity as possible the dead were recovered, brought aboard the Responder, placed carefully in body bags and laid in the ship’s morgue.
The rescuers also however have a long way to go before they can find asylum in the country, a process which takes many months if not years. The migrants are trying to flee from the worsening situation in Syria where, meanwhile, at least 48 people were killed in bomb attacks as Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama fail to reach a deal due to “gaps of trust” in the G20 Summit.
