Two children were killed while more than a dozen migrants were rescued from a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the civil search & rescue fleet Sea Punks, the tragic accident occurred in the early hours of Sunday in the Maltese Search and Rescue (SAR) area.
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“At around 7 AM this morning, the crew of Sea Punk I heard cries for help nearby,” the German NGO wrote in a Facebook post. “Right in front of the bow, several people were in the water, scattered into different groups. The crew reacted immediately, preparing the rescue team and launching the RHIB to begin the rescue operation.”
The Sea Punks then stated that the situation was extremely critical, with many people drifting on both sides of the ship. All available rescue equipment was deployed to save as many lives as possible.
The Rescuers Attempted to Save 21 Migrants From the Shipwreck But Watched Some ‘Drown Before Their Eyes’
Continuing to share more details about the shipwreck, it was revealed that 18 people were initially rescued alive from the water. One infant was already deceased when the rescuers arrived.
The Sea Punks crew medical team performed CPR on two other children but was only able to revive one of them. The rescuers revealed that they had initially started with 21 people. Unfortunately, several of those people “drowned before their eyes.”
“Most of the passengers on board showed signs of partly severe hypothermia, and the crew immediately provided assistance,” the Sea Punks stated. “A medical evacuation was immediately requested, while the medical team was still resuscitating two children. Before the arrival of a Maltese rescue helicopter, one child could be saved while the other died.”
The Sea Punks further revealed that a helicopter evacuated a pregnant woman and a seriously injured man from the shipwreck. A total of 15 rescued children and the bodies of the two deceased children remained on board Sea Punk I. An Italian Coast Guard rescue ship took the survivors and the deceased on board.
“Our thoughts are with the family who lost loved ones today,” the Sea Punks added. “We are mourning. The EU would act differently for people who shouldn’t have died. We condemn this deadly ignorance that took the lives of two children today.”
The shipwreck incident occurred just one day after the Sea Punks assisted a fiberglass boat in the Maltese Search and Rescue Zone. The vessel was carrying 41 people, including five women and six children.
The boat had run out of fuel about nine nautical miles before the Italian search and rescue border.