Rescuers find bodies in Mediterranean Sea and on refugee boats

The perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea has claimed more lives, with multiple rescue organizations reporting the discovery of dead refugees on boats and in the water. The Italian aid group Emergency announced finding seven deceased individuals on an overcrowded vessel, from which they managed to rescue 57 people.

Adding to the grim toll, the German organization Sea-Watch reported spotting three bodies adrift in the Mediterranean. Earlier, SOS Méditerranée had discovered eleven corpses near the Libyan coast. Emergency stated that the people found on the wooden boat had departed from the Libyan coastal town of Zuwara the previous day.

The rescue operation by Emergency occurred in international waters, within a zone where Libya holds responsibility for rescues. However, no immediate statement was issued by Libyan authorities regarding the incident. Meanwhile, the SOS Méditerranée ship Ocean Viking rescued 55 individuals from a crowded inflatable boat in the Maltese search and rescue region. These refugees, predominantly from Sudan and South Sudan, had reportedly been at sea for three days.