Four migrant bodies recovered from a boat arrive in Sicily

The bodies of migrants recovered from a boat a couple of miles off the Libyan coast have arrived in Sicily.

Among the four bodies were 352 survivors who were rescued by the Topaz Responder rescue vessel as they attempted to make their way to Europe across the Mediterranean.

The four died from suffocation.

Gianfilppo Pascolini a project coordinator of Research and Recsure Operation for NGO Emergency said, “Three-hundred and fifty-two people, the majority of whom are women and children, with 37 unaccompanied foreign minors. This rescue was not an ordinary one for us because, inside the migrants’ boat, we found the lifeless bodies of four young men in their twenties, the youngest 17 years old.”

“The health conditions of the others were generally good, there were women into the seventh, eighth month of their pregnancy, there were a few cases of scabies, but overall the health conditions were good and the migrants were mostly young people in their twenties,’‘ he added.

Last month, the Italian coast guard warned migrant rescue operations are increasing.

Many of the migrants are fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East in search of a better life.

Reuters