5 Syrians including children drowned off Libyan coast as boat bound to Europe capsized

An inflatable boat from the Spanish vessel Astral operated by the NGO Proactiva collects migrants off the Libyan coast in the Mediterranean Sea August 18, 2016.  REUTERS/Giorgos Moutafis
An inflatable boat from the Spanish vessel Astral operated by the NGO Proactiva collects migrants off the Libyan coast in the Mediterranean Sea August 18, 2016. REUTERS/Giorgos Moutafis

Three Syrian children drowned along with three adults when a wooden boat trying to carry war refugees to Europe capsized off the coast of Libya, a humanitarian rescue group said on Friday.

The bodies of two girls, aged eight months and five years, were pulled out of the sea about 22 nautical miles from Libya on Thursday after the small vessel packed with 27 Syrians flipped over and sank, the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) humanitarian group said.

The bodies of two women and one man were also recovered, but a five-year-old boy who was on the boat when it sank was not found, MOAS reported. MOAS operates two rescue boats in the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and Libya.

A fishing boat and a ship operated by humanitarian group Proactiva Open Arms collected the 21 survivors, who are now being taken to aboard the Responder, a MOAS boat.

The media spotlight refocused on the plight of civilians in Syria’s conflict this week following a wrenching video of a dust-covered, disoriented five-year-old boy, Omran Daqneesh, pulled from the rubble after a bombing raid in Aleppo.

More than 500 migrants were rescued from overcrowded and unsafe boats in seas between Libya and Italy on Thursday. They included 146 people plucked from a semi-deflated rubber vessel, Italy’s coastguard said.

Last year, Syrian refugees bound for Europe tended to take a short boat ride to Greek islands from Turkey. Those routes have been largely shut down this year, forcing some to make the longer and more dangerous voyage from North Africa toward Italy.

Thousands of children have been killed in the Syrian civil war, now in its fifth year, and more than 3,000 migrants have died in the Mediterranean so far this year, the International Organization for Migration estimates.

About a quarter of all boat migrants in 2016 – some 100,000 have arrived in Italy – are children, the U.N. refugee agency says.

The views expressed in Op-Ed pieces are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Libyan Express.
How to submit an Op-Ed: Libyan Express accepts opinion articles on a wide range of topics. Submissions may be sent to oped@libyanexpress.com. Please include ‘Op-Ed’ in the subject line.
You might also like

Submit a Correction

For: 5 Syrians including children drowned off Libyan coast as boat bound to Europe capsized

Your suggestion have been successfully submitted

There was an error while trying to send your request. Please try again.

Libyan Express will use the information you provide on this form to be in touch with you and to provide updates and marketing.