Over 10,000 people have been rescued from the Mediterranean sea in the past 48 hours, and the death toll has now reached 50. Smugglers decided to take advantage of the calm waters and launch vessels crowded with refugees who pay them in hopes of reaching European shores.
People wait to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFP
Refugee's arrived at Italy's Messina port on 5 October, having been rescued at sea earlier in the week. Around 6,055 people were on board the ship, one of the highest numbers in a single day, according to Italian and Libyan officials. Officials later stated that 11 bodies were found washed up on a beach east of the capital, Tripoli, and that another two people had died when a boat sank off the western city of Sabratha. The coast guard told the Associated Press that it coordinated a total of 39 rescues on 3 October in the sea about 30 miles north of Tripoli.
People wait to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFPA man waits to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFP
On Tuesday (4 October) another 4, 655 people were saved by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 miles north of the Libyan coast. According to the International Organisation for Migration, around 132,000 people have arrived in Italy since the start of the year and 3,054 have died. Most depart from Libya, where political chaos and a security vacuum have allowed people smugglers to act with impunity.
People wait to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFPPeople wait to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFPPeople try to pull a child out of the water as they wait to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFPPeople wait to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFPA man helps another as they wait to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFPPeople wait to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFPA child cries while being rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFPThe Proactiva Open Arms NGO hand out life jackets to refugees in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFPPeople react as they are being rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFPA mother holds her child after being rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFPA man is rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFPA woman holds a her baby as she waits to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFPMembers of Proactiva Open Arms NGO prepare to evacuate a dead body on a stretcher from the third level of a wooden vessel during a rescuing operation in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFPMembers of Proactiva Open Arms NGO evacuate a dead body on a stretcher during a rescuing operation in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of LibyaAris Messinis/ AFP
