Overcrowded migrant boat sinks in Mediterranean, killing three sisters

On the night of August 22–23, three Sudanese sisters, aged 9, 11 and 17, died while trying to escape to Europe when their overcrowded rubber boat carrying migrants to Italy began to sink in the Central Mediterranean.

The sailing vessel NADIR rescued 65 people from an overcrowded and flooded rubber boat, Caliber.Az reports, citing the German non-profit rescue organisation RESQSHIP.

During the evacuation, survivors discovered the bodies of three sisters, aged 9, 11, and 17, who had drowned inside the boat.  

The distress call was first reported to the Alarm Phone hotline on the evening of August 22. Around 1 a.m., the NADIR located the rubber boat, which had departed from Zuwara, Libya, the day before. Just hours into the journey, the boat began taking on water, and passengers tried in vain to bail it out. Many were already sitting knee-deep in water as waves up to 1.5 meters repeatedly washed over the vessel. Among those aboard were women, including three pregnant women, children, and a seven-month-old baby.

“While we were evacuating people one by one from the rubber boat onto the NADIR, I suddenly heard screams, and someone pointed to the water inside the boat. It became clear that there were bodies beneath the surface,” recalled Barbara Sartore, Communications Coordinator on board.

“The boat was dangerously overcrowded, pitch-dark, and flooding. People were panicking. In that chaos, it was impossible to see that the three sisters, sitting deep inside the boat, had already drowned. When the survivors realized, it was sheer horror,” she added.

The medical team attempted to resuscitate the girls but was unsuccessful. Three other family members, including the mother and a brother, survived. Survivors reported that another person had gone overboard hours earlier and remains missing. Many of those rescued suffered severe chemical burns from the mixture of seawater and petrol and were treated on board the NADIR, where the crew cared for all throughout the night.

The following morning, relatives were given time and privacy to grieve and say goodbye. On August 23 afternoon, the Italian Coast Guard evacuated 14 people—medical cases and their relatives—to Lampedusa. Later that evening, the NADIR also reached the island with the remaining survivors and the deceased.

“What happened to the three sisters is unimaginable, as is the danger faced by people fleeing in search of safety. Our thoughts are with their relatives, who bear this preventable loss and pain. Safe escape routes are urgently needed to put an end to these deaths in the Mediterranean,” said Katja Schnitzer, crew member on board the NADIR.

By Khagan Isayev