UN agency lauds Italian navy for sea rescue of refugees from Libya
| Publisher | UN News Service |
| Publication Date | 11 November 2011 |
| Cite as | UN News Service, UN agency lauds Italian navy for sea rescue of refugees from Libya, 11 November 2011, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4ec22f542.html [accessed 30 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the boat was carrying 44 people, mostly sub-Saharans. Relatives of some of the passengers onboard sent out distress calls from a satellite phone in the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday evening.
A full 48 hours later, the boat was rescued by an Italian military vessel last night.
"UNHCR is grateful that the Italian navy took this UNHCR had estimated that, as of mid-August, some 52,000 people had arrived in Italy since the unrest in North Africa began earlier this yearinitiative despite the fact that the boat was in Maltese search and rescue waters," spokesperson Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva.
He said the delay in rescuing the boat led to huge risks to the lives of the people onboard, including drowning, dehydration and exposure.
A woman with a small baby was evacuated by helicopter to Sicily from the Italian island of Lampedusa, Mr. Edwards added.
UNHCR had estimated that, as of mid-August, some 52,000 people had arrived in Italy since the unrest in North Africa began earlier this year 27,000 of them departed from Libya and the rest from Tunisia.
Hundreds of people have also lost their lives attempting to reach Italy's shores. At the start of June at least 150 people who fled Libya drowned in one of the year's deadliest boat incidents in the Mediterranean.
