According to the aid organization SOS Mediterranee, dozens of people drowned in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya. The rescue ship „Ocean Viking“ arrived yesterday at the site of the accident northeast of Tripoli after hours of searching, the organization said. About 130 people are said to have been on board the dinghy.
In the past few days, SOS Mediterranee claims to have received several emergency calls to boats that were in distress, but they were several hours away. The crew of the „Ocean Viking“ went on a search, but was unsuccessful. „Since our arrival on site we have not been able to find any survivors, instead we have found at least ten bodies near the wreck,“ said the search and rescue coordinator of the „Ocean Viking“, Luisa Albera.
Most recently, at least 41 people were killed in a shipwreck with a refugee boat off the Tunisian coast last week. According to UN data, just under 360 people have died in the central Mediterranean this year. Many refugees try to reach Italy by taking small boats across the Mediterranean Sea. The private rescue operations are politically controversial.
