The vessel was believed to be carrying 47 people, and according to different sources, dozens of people from the boat may have drowned. Both the Mediterranea Saving Humans charity and the Alarm Phone, which picks up calls from migrant vessels in distress, confirmed the tragic event on Twitter.
The Alarm Phone reported that it had alerted the authorities on Saturday, saying that the boat required immediate assistance. However, there has been no comment from any official source. According to the Mediterranea charity, Italian authorities had asked merchant vessels to intervene, but they failed to carry out a rescue operation once they had arrived on the scene.
Italy’s rescue capabilities have previously been called into question after a tragic shipwreck on February 26, near the southern Calabria region of the country which claimed at least 79 lives. Saturday’s events have once again highlighted the dangers faced by migrants crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe.
