ROME: As many as 60 people are feared to have drowned on a vessel carrying migrants across the Central Mediterranean from Libya to Italy or Malta, the operators of a charity rescue group said on Thursday.
SOS Mediterranee said it rescued 25 people in a “very weak” condition in coordination with the Italian Coast Guard on Wednesday and that two unconscious people were flown to Sicily by helicopter.
The Central Mediterranean is one of the world’s most dangerous sea migration routes. According to the UN migration agency (IOM), almost 2,500 migrants using it died or went missing last year, and 226 since the start of 2024.
“The survivors departed from Zawiya, Libya, seven days before they were rescued,” SOS Mediterranee posted on the social media platform X.
“Their engine broke after three days, leaving their boat lost (and) adrift without water and food for days. Survivors report that at least 60 people perished on the way, including women and at least one child,” it added.
There was no immediate comment from the Italian Coast Guard.
The IOM said it was “deeply troubled” by the report.
“Urgent action is needed to strengthen maritime patrols and prevent further tragedies,” it said on X.
In a post on X on Wednesday, the SOS Mediterranee said its Ocean Viking vessel had evacuated 25 people spotted using binoculars who were on a rubber boat drifting in the Libyan search and rescue area.
Italy and other European Union governments are trying to
curb the number
of sea migrants making the crossing from North Africa, and have offered money or equipment to Libya and Tunisia to stop departures from their shores.
Data from the Italian Interior Ministry record that 5,968 migrants have arrived by sea so far this year, down from 19,937 at the same stage in 2023.
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Sixty migrants feared drowned crossing Mediterranean from Libya
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Sixty migrants feared drowned crossing Mediterranean from Libya
- SOS Mediterranee said it rescued 25 people in a “very weak” condition in coordination with the Italian Coast Guard “The survivors departed from Zawiya, Libya, seven days before they were rescued”
- “The survivors departed from Zawiya, Libya, seven days before they were rescued”
US shoots down Iranian drone approaching aircraft carrier, official says
- Iranian Shahed-139 drone shot down by F-35 jet
- Iranian boats harass US-flagged tanker in Strait of Hormuz, US military says
The US military on Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, the US military said, in an incident first reported by Reuters. The incident came as diplomats sought to arrange nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, and US President Donald Trump warned that with US warships heading toward Iran, “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.
Oil futures prices rose more than $1 per barrel after news the drone was shot down.
The Iranian Shahed-139 drone was flying toward the carrier “with unclear intent” and was shot down by an F-35 US fighter jet, the US military said.
“An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board,” said Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson at the US military’s Central Command.
Iran’s UN mission declined to comment.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency said connection had been lost with a drone in international waters, but the reason was unknown.
No American service members were harmed during the incident and no US equipment was damaged, he added.
The Lincoln carrier strike group is the most visible part of a US military buildup in the Middle East following a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month, the deadliest domestic unrest in Iran since its 1979 revolution.
Trump, who stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene during the crackdown, has since demanded Tehran make nuclear concessions and sent a flotilla to its coast. He said last week Iran was “seriously talking,” while Tehran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, said arrangements for negotiations were under way.
Iranian boats harass US-flagged tanker
In a separate incident on Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, just hours after the drone shootdown, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces harassed a US-flagged, US-crewed merchant vessel, according to the US military.
“Two IRGC boats and an Iranian MoHajjer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker,” Hawkins said.
Maritime risk management group Vanguard said the Iranian boats ordered the tanker to stop its engine and prepare to be boarded. Instead, the tanker sped up and continued its voyage.
Hawkins said a US Navy warship, the McFaul, was operating in the area and escorted the Stena Imperative.
“The situation de-escalated as a result, and the US-flagged tanker is proceeding safely,” Hawkins added.
Oil futures prices rose more than $1 per barrel after news the drone was shot down.
The Iranian Shahed-139 drone was flying toward the carrier “with unclear intent” and was shot down by an F-35 US fighter jet, the US military said.
“An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board,” said Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson at the US military’s Central Command.
Iran’s UN mission declined to comment.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency said connection had been lost with a drone in international waters, but the reason was unknown.
No American service members were harmed during the incident and no US equipment was damaged, he added.
The Lincoln carrier strike group is the most visible part of a US military buildup in the Middle East following a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month, the deadliest domestic unrest in Iran since its 1979 revolution.
Trump, who stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene during the crackdown, has since demanded Tehran make nuclear concessions and sent a flotilla to its coast. He said last week Iran was “seriously talking,” while Tehran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, said arrangements for negotiations were under way.
Iranian boats harass US-flagged tanker
In a separate incident on Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, just hours after the drone shootdown, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces harassed a US-flagged, US-crewed merchant vessel, according to the US military.
“Two IRGC boats and an Iranian MoHajjer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker,” Hawkins said.
Maritime risk management group Vanguard said the Iranian boats ordered the tanker to stop its engine and prepare to be boarded. Instead, the tanker sped up and continued its voyage.
Hawkins said a US Navy warship, the McFaul, was operating in the area and escorted the Stena Imperative.
“The situation de-escalated as a result, and the US-flagged tanker is proceeding safely,” Hawkins added.
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