Migrant crisis: 22 bodies found on Mediterranean boat - MSF
The bodies of 22 people have been found on a
migrant dinghy in the Mediterranean, the aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres
(MSF) has said.
The 21 women and
one man were found "in a pool of fuel and water" at the bottom of the
boat, off the coast of Libya.
They had been on
the dinghy "for hours", the aid group said.
More than 200
survivors who were on the dinghy have been transferred to a boat operated by
MSF. There were 50 children among them.
Jens Pagotto of
MSF told Reuters news agency: "It is still not entirely clear what
happened, but they died a horrible death. It is tragic.
"It seems
that water and fuel mixed together and the fumes from this might have been
enough for them to lose consciousness."
Most of the
people on board were from western African countries.
The survivors
were among more than 2,000 migrants rescued from the water in different
operations on Wednesday and taken to Sicily. Vessels from the Spanish and
Italian navies and other humanitarian organisations were involved.
Thousands of
migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean this year, according to
figures from the International Organization for Migration.
MSF patrols the
Mediterranean in three rescue vessels - the Dignity 1, the Bourbon Argos and
the Aquarius. Another group, called SOS Mediterranee, is also involved with the
Aquarius, which was the vessel used in Wednesday's rescue.
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