Migrant Boat Sinks: 200 Missing, 94 Dead

A migrant boat carrying close to 500 passengers from Africa to Italy sank near the Sicilian island of Lampedusa. Authorities recovered 94 bodies from the sea and least 200 people remain missing.

Coast guard spokesman Marco Di Milla confirmed the migrants were from Eritrea, Ghana, and Somalia. They were traveling to Europe to find a better life. The passengers boarded the boat in Libya.

Di Milla said numerous rescue teams responded to the scene by helicopter and boat. As the search continues, the death toll is expected to rise.

As reported by CBS News, the tragedy began with a fire. Several passengers were setting off flares to mark their location. One of the flares started a fire on board, sending passengers scrambling.

The migrant boat eventually capsized, dumping hundreds of people into the sea.

It is the second refugee tragedy in less than a week. On September 30, another ship carrying migrants ran aground along the Sicilian shore. Thirteen men drowned as they attempted to swim to shore.

The deaths underline the refugees’ desperation to find a new and better life. Although it is illegal, hundreds of migrants travel to Italian shores every day.

When they reach the shore, they are processed through immigration centers. If they do not qualify for asylum, they are turned away.

Those who are granted asylum travel throughout Europe, often settling in communities with other immigrants.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, recorded more than 8,000 migrants arriving in Italy and Malta between January and July. Around 40 were killed before they reached the shore.

As reported by Reuters, 150 survivors were rescued in the latest tragedy. Guterres credits the Italian coast guard for their quick response to the situation. However, he is troubled by the increased numbers of refugees “fleeing conflict or persecution.”

The migrant boat was less than a mile from shore when it capsized.

[Image via Wikimedia]