Six bodies believed to be from a shipwreck off the coast of Libya were recovered near Sicily, Italy, on Sunday, according to DW.
The victims are thought to be among those missing from a boat that sank earlier in the week in Libyan waters, according to Italian media reports.
The decomposed bodies were found near Sicily, located off Italy’s southwestern mainland. They were transported to Lampedusa, an island about 350 kilometres (217 miles) away from where they were discovered.
The Italian coastguard had rescued seven Syrian men from a partially sunken boat southwest of Lampedusa on Wednesday. The survivors reported that they had departed from Sabrata, Libya, on September 1, with 28 people onboard, including three children. They said that 21 people fell into the sea amid rough weather conditions.
“We left Sabrata, Libya, on Sunday afternoon,” one survivor told Italian media. “Onboard were all Sudanese and Syrians. The boat capsized after a day at sea … Everyone fell into the water because the weather was bad and the sea was rough. We tried to save our companions, but there was nothing we could do.”
Rescuers believe that the bodies retrieved are some of the 21 individuals who went missing from the shipwreck, based on the coordinates of the recovery site, as reported by the Italian news agency AGI.
Lampedusa’s mayor, Filippo Mannino, described the discovery as “another tragedy” in the ongoing migration crisis. “We hoped, in the hours following the rescue of the seven Syrians, that the coast guard patrol boats would be able to find the missing alive. But the passing of time has made us lose all hope,” Mannino told local media.
The latest incident highlights the dangers faced by migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean from Libya in search of safety and a better life in Europe.
