60 migrants feared dead in Mediterranean crossing

A Tunisian national coast guard helps a migran child to get off a rescue boat in Jbeniana, Safx, Tunisia April 23, 2022. [Reuters]

At least 60 people are feared to have died at sea and 25 others were rescued, the European migrant rescue organization SOS Mediterranee said on Thursday.

SOS Mediterranee said the boat departed from Zawiya, Libya, seven days before being rescued by the organization's Ocean Viking ship. The refugee's boat's engine failed three days after its departure, leaving the vessel adrift for days without fresh water or food.

According to survivors, multiple women and at least one child were among the deceased. The 25 survivors were in grave condition. Two of them were unconscious when rescued and had to be sent to a hospital on Italy's Sicily island by helicopter.

The organization reported other significant rescues recently. On Wednesday, 113 migrants, including six women and two children, were rescued from a two-level wooden craft. On Thursday, 88 were rescued from a rubber boat. No fatalities were reported from these two operations.

Based on their recent rescue operations, SOS Mediterranee said there was an increase in the number of boats carrying refugees from Libya, rather than Tunisia, which had been the main point of departure for migrant ships over the years.