At least 60 migrants may have died in a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea after a week-long drift without food and water due to their vessel's engine breaking mid-way, European maritime humanitarian organization SOS Mediterranee said on Thursday.
"The survivors departed from Zawiya, Libya, 7 days before they were rescued. Their engine broke after 3 days, leaving their boat lost adrift without water and food for days. Survivors report that at least 60 people perished on the way, including women and at least one child," the NGO said on X.
The rescue operation took place on Wednesday. The organization said it rescued 25 people "in very weak health condition" together with the Italian Coast Guard; two were unconscious and were airlifted for medical treatment to Sicily by helicopter.
Over the past year and a half, the Italian government has passed several bills to toughen the penalties for smuggling illegal migrants to the Apennines. The Italian Interior Ministry said that in 2023 more than 157,000 migrants arrived in the country by sea, up from 105,000 the year prior.