11-Year-Old Girl Saved After Migrant Boat Capsizes Near Italy
A girl aged 11 from Sierra Leone has been rescued after spending three days at sea as the only survivor of a shipwreck near Italy's Lampedusa island, according to a rescue charity.
The German charity Compass Collective reported that its crew was en route to address another emergency when they heard cries for help from the water. They discovered the girl around 3am, wearing a life jacket and clinging to two tire tubes.
“The 11-year-old girl, originally hailing from Sierra Leone, had been adrift for three days with two makeshift life jackets crafted from air-filled tire tubes along with a standard life jacket,” the organization stated.
She recounted to the charity that she had departed from the Tunisian city of Sfax aboard a metal vessel carrying 45 individuals that sank during a storm.
“The girl had no access to drinking water or food and was suffering from hypothermia, but she was responsive and oriented,” Compass Collective reported.
The charity’s crew attended to her needs and transported her to Lampedusa, which is closer to North Africa than mainland Italy and frequently serves as a first landing point for migrants.
Following medical treatment, the girl was relocated to a migrant holding center where staff and volunteers from the Italian Red Cross were providing care, the Red Cross confirmed.
The maritime migration route connecting Tunisia, Libya, Italy, and Malta is regarded as one of the most perilous globally.
“During this festive season, when many among us are fortunate to be with their loved ones, my thoughts are with the girl from Sierra Leone,” remarked Nicola Dell’Arciprete, the head of UNICEF’s Italian branch.
“This is yet another tragedy that adds to the growing toll of the deceased and missing in the Central Mediterranean.”
The maritime path from Tunisia to Libya to Italy and Malta represents one of the most hazardous in the world, with over 24,300 individuals reported missing or dead since 2014, as per the International Organisation for Migration.
The NGO Mediterranea expressed concern in a statement regarding the disappearance of three additional migrant vessels along the route from Tunisia to Italy in recent weeks, urging authorities to initiate a search operation for potential survivors.
“Lives in peril at sea cannot be neglected,” emphasized Luca Casarini of Mediterranea.
Italy asserts that its stringent immigration policies are contributing to a decline in sea arrivals.
This year, Italy has recorded approximately 64,000 migrant landings, in contrast to over 153,000 during the same timeframe in 2023.
