Young Shipwreck Survivor Rescued off the Coast of Italy
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Rome, Dec 12 (NationPress) A young girl was saved from the Mediterranean Sea and transported to Lampedusa, a southern island of Italy, after being discovered alone in the waters, as reported by local media.
The rescue operation was conducted on Wednesday by a vessel belonging to the charity organization Compass Collective, according to reports from the Xinhua news agency.
The girl is thought to be the only survivor from a group of around 45 migrants who departed from Sfax, Tunisia, the previous week, based on initial reports.
Rescuers noted that they found the girl in the early hours of Wednesday.
Each year, thousands of migrants tragically lose their lives while attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing to reach southern Europe, with Italy, Spain, and Greece being the main destinations.
As of this year, a total of 64,021 migrants and asylum seekers have arrived in Italy via the central Mediterranean route, a decrease from 153,126 during the same timeframe in 2023, according to statistics from Italy’s interior ministry. In total, 185,623 migrants have reached southern Europe in 2024, with over 175,000 making the perilous Mediterranean journey, as reported by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
Although overall arrivals have diminished compared to the peak years of 2015-2016, the death toll remains disturbingly high. To date in 2024, around 2,250 individuals have been reported missing or deceased, following 4,110 in 2023 and 3,017 in 2022, according to the UNHCR.
