The Doctors without Borders rescue ship (Geo Barents) discovered 11 bodies of migrants who perished at the Mediterranean Sea while trying to cross to Europe on Saturday.
MSF posted a statement on its X page on Sunday, where MSF’s rescue operations Coordinator, Fulvia Conte, onboard of Geo Barents, stated that they received an alert from the crew on board of the Seabird.
He said that after arriving at the scene, they began gathering up the victims’ remains as they drifted out to sea.
“Yesterday, the Geo Barents, after carrying out two rescue operations of a small fiberglass boat and a dinghy with 109 people on board, recovered bodies of 11 people at sea, thanks also to the support of the Sea Watch, Sea Bird,” Conte said.
He added, “People will always try to find a safe life, not so much a better life; but there should be legal channels to escape from absolutely inhuman situations.”
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a total of 7,059 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya in the same period.
The aid agency reported that the Central Mediterranean region saw 282 fatalities and 449 reported missing persons between January 1 and June 1, 2024.
However, compared to the same period last year, statistics from the Italian Interior Ministry indicates that there are far fewer migrants arriving in Italy.
As of last week, the expected number of boat arrivals in Italy in 2024 was 21,574, down from 51,628 in 2023.
