A European humanitarian aid group said on Thursday that about 50 migrants died after their small boat deflated during an attempt to cross the central Mediterranean Sea.
A ship belonging to the charity, SOS Mediterranee, spotted the deflating rubber dinghy on Wednesday, in international waters under the Libyan rescue jurisdiction.
The survivors told the charity that they had been adrift for four days, since the engine on their dinghy broke.
Some 50 other people were with them when they departed from the Libyan port of Zawiya, they told the rescuers, including two infants and four women.
Valeria Taurino, the director general of SOS Mediterranee, said the situation on board was “disastrous.”
Persons:
Valeria Taurino, ”
Organizations:
SOS Mediterranee
Locations:
Zawiya