Between 700 and 900 migrants may have died at sea this week.
At least 700 migrants may have died at sea last week trying to cross from Libya to Italy, Doctors Without Borders and the UN refugee agency said on Sunday; about 14 people have been rescued since Monday in calm seas, and there have been at least three confirmed cases of sunken boats; but the death toll can only be estimated based on survivor testimonies, which are still being collected.
Rome (Reuters) - At least 700 migrants may have died at sea last week trying to cross from Libya to Italy, Doctors Without Borders and the UN refugee agency said on Sunday.
Around 14 people have been rescued since Monday amid calm seas, and there have been at least three confirmed cases of sunken boats. But the death toll can only be estimated based on survivor testimonies, which are still being collected.
"We will never know the exact number," Doctors Without Borders said in a tweet, after estimating that 900 died during the week. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that more than 700 people drowned.
Migrants interviewed on Saturday at the Sicilian port of Pozzallo said that a large fishing boat capsized and sank on Thursday with many women and children on board.
Initial estimates suggested that 400 people had died, but the UN refugee agency said there could have been around 670 passengers on board.
According to testimony gathered by the European Union's border agency Frontex, when the unpowered fishing boat capsized, 25 people swam to the boat that was going to tow it, while another 79 to 89 people were rescued and 15 bodies were recovered. This meant more than 550 died, said UNHCR.
Migrants, fleeing war, oppression, and poverty, often don't know how to swim and don't have life jackets. They pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to make the crossing from Libya to Italy, by far the most dangerous border crossing for migrants worldwide.