EUROPE-MIGRANTS/CATANIA-BODIES Bodies of migrants who suffocated in boat whilst trying to cross Mediterranean arrive in Sicily

Record ID: 143653

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/CATANIA-BODIES Bodies of migrants who suffocated in boat whilst trying to cross Mediterranean arrive in Sicily
  • Date: 17th August 2015
  • Summary: CATANIA, SICILY, ITALY (AUGUST 17, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CRANE MANOEUVRING WINCH TOWARDS CONTAINER CRANE LIFTING CONTAINER WITH BODIES INSIDE CRANE MOVING CONTAINER TOWARDS QUAYSIDE VARIOUS CRANE SLOWLY LOWERING CONTAINER TOWARDS LORRY CONTAINER BEING PLACED ON LORRY OPERATOR WORKING ON CRANE CHAIN VARIOUS OF CONTAINER ON LORRY VARIOUS OF LORRY WITH CONTAINER DRIVING
  • Embargoed: 1st September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABAXQCN36H6DFR377OUQGGX44N
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A container filled with the bodies of 49 migrants was unloaded from the Norwegian Frontex coastguard vessel on Monday (August 17) at the Sicilian port of Catania after survivors of the latest disaster had all disembarked.
    Migrants who have arrived in Italy say human traffickers based in lawless Libya charge them between $1,200 and $1,800 for a place on the deck of boats. Those crammed in the hold pay about half as much as those above.
    The victims are believed to have suffocated in the water-logged hold of a fishing boat whilst those above deck including 45 women and 3 minors were rescued.
    The deaths which occurred on August 15 are a grim reminder of how dangerous the passage across the Mediterranean sea can be. The victims are thought to have suffocated after inhaling fumes from fuel after the boat took on water in the hold.
    The Italian coastguard rescued 354 migrants on Sunday evening (August 16) from a fishing boat off the southern Calabrian coast. One person was found dead onboard the boat as the rescue was taking place.
    More than 2,300 people fleeing war and poverty have died this year in attempts to reach Europe by boat, compared with 3,279 deaths during the whole of last year, the International Organisation for Migration said.
    The Geneva-based organisation said the number of migrants who have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year is approaching a quarter of a million, compared with 219,000 for all of last year.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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