GhanaStar
  • News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Music
No Result
View All Result
GhanaStar
  • News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Music
No Result
View All Result
GhanaStar
No Result
View All Result
Home Headlines

At Least 30 Migrants Drown In New Med Disaster

May 24, 2017
in Headlines
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

At least 30 migrants including young children drowned Wednesday when they fell off an overloaded vessel in the Mediterranean, where tensions are rising between aid ships and the Libyan coast guard.

You Might Also Like

Ghanaian Can Travel to South Africa Visa-Free

2019 – the Biggest Year yet for Ghanaian Tourism

Three Britons On Trial In Singapore Accused of Gang-Raping Drunk Woman

“There’s a critical situation today. About 200 people fell into the water,” a coastguard spokesman told AFP, while a humanitarian worker at the scene said 31 bodies had been recovered.

The migrants were on a wooden boat carrying between 500 and 700 people and were just 20 nautical miles off the Libyan coast when the accident happened.

The crew of the Phoenix aid boat, chartered by the Maltese NGO Moas, had begun the rescue and were distributing lifejackets when many of those on deck fell into the water, perhaps knocked off balance by a wave.

“Not a scene from a horror movie… Real life tragedy unfolding on Europe’s doorstep today!,” said Chris Catrambone, Moas co-founder, who was aboard the Phoenix and published photos showing white body bags lined up on the deck.

“Rescuers are frantically trying to break open the locked hold on a wooden boat where hundreds of migrants are trapped!” he tweeted.

With the help of an Italian coast guard ship and several commercial ships, rescuers raced to drag as many people as possible from the water, while a military aircraft dropped life-rafts and a helicopter looked for survivors.

“Current body count at 31,” Catrambone said, adding many who fell overboard had been “small toddlers”.

About 15 relief operations were under way Wednesday off Libya in total, the coast guard said.

On Tuesday, they coordinated the rescue of about 1,500 people, while their Libyan counterparts intercepted 237 others, including 20 women and 15 children, travelling on two wooden boats.

Among the migrants was a group of 12 Libyans — including five women and three children — who were trying to flee the conflict-hit country. Libyans have been a rare sight on migrant boats so far.

The German NGO Jugend Rettet said Tuesday it had had a run-in with armed men on a boat purportedly commandeered by the Libyan coast guard.

The Libyan boat already had passengers on board — presumably picked up from a dinghy in the area.

Jugend Rettet published a photograph appearing to show the armed men pointing their weapons directly at the migrants and said “a variety of shots” were fired “and refugees were beaten”.

Some 100 people on the Libyan boat panicked when the shots rang out and threw themselves into the water, swimming towards the German boat Iuventa and the SOS Mediterranee boat Aquarius, which was also at the scene.

“We can not say whether and how many dead there were in the shooting. We had to be careful not to get a bullet ourselves,” Jugend Rettet said in a statement citing the Iuventa’s 25-year old captain Jonas, without giving his surname.

The Libyan coast guard has recently begun carrying out its own operations at sea, towing migrant dinghies headed for Europe back to shore and locking up those recovered in centres which are renowned for human rights abuses.

Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.

Tags: africacaptainChris Catramboneco-foundercoast guardcoastguard spokesmaneuropeGeography of Africaguardhumanitarian workerItalian coastJonaslibyaLibyan coastMediterraneanMigrant Offshore Aid StationMoasNorth AfricaPhoenixPrecious Metals & Minerals - NECSocial Issues

Related News

Ghanaian Can Travel to South Africa Visa-Free

by
July 10, 2019
0

Citizens of Ghana no longer need a visa to travel to South Africa. This is because the South African Government...

2019 – the Biggest Year yet for Ghanaian Tourism

by
January 24, 2019
0

2018 was a good year for tourism in Ghana with more than GH₵5.8 billion spent in the country's travel and...

Three Britons On Trial In Singapore Accused of Gang-Raping Drunk Woman

by
August 1, 2017
0

Three British men have gone on trial in Singapore today accused of gang-raping a 23-year-old woman while visiting the city-state...

Pakistani Taliban Launches Women’s Magazine

by
August 1, 2017
0

The Pakistani Taliban on Tuesday released the first edition of a magazine for women, apparently aiming to convince its target...

Next Post

MP Jabs 'hypocritical' Think-Tanks Over Their Inconsistencies

3 Former Government Appointees Cited In $4m 'chop, Chop'

Categories

  • Africa & World
  • African Music Lyrics Directory
  • Business
  • Business Directory
  • celebrities
  • Computing
  • Diaspora
  • Entertainment
  • Events
  • Feature
  • Featured
  • Ghana Elections 2016
  • Headlines
  • Health
  • International
  • Internet
  • Jobs
  • lifestyle
  • Music
  • News
  • Offbeat
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Profiles
  • Religion
  • Security
  • Seth Terkper
  • Smart Home
  • Social Networks
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Top Stories
  • World News

Tags

accra addo africa Association football Banks - NEC business Business_Finance chairman Donald Trump economy education Entertainment_Culture environment Geography of Africa ghana Ghanaian people government Government of Ghana Human Interest John Dramani Mahama john mahama Law_Crime mahama minister MPs elected in the Ghanaian parliamentary election Nana Addo Nana Addo Dankwa Nana Akufo-Addo National Democratic Congress National Democratic Congress (NDC) New Patriotic Party New Patriotic Party (NPP) nigeria politics Politics of Ghana president Social Issues Social Media Social Media & Networking sports United Kingdom United Nations United States Vice President War_Conflict

Recent Posts

  • Government of Ghana Unveils Official Portraits of President John Dramani Mahama and Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang
  • Who Is the Woman (Sheena Gakpe) in Sarkodie’s Latest Hit “No Sir” and Why Everyone Is Talking about It
List of Ghana Holidays for 2020
Ghana Geocoding
Ghana Cedis Exchange API
Ghana Maps Service
Toyota Cars Auto Auction History
  • African Music Lyrics Directory
  • Business Directory
  • Diaspora
  • Top Stories

All rights reserved © 2021 GhanaStar.com

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Music

All rights reserved © 2021 GhanaStar.com