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Big rescue operation in the central Mediterranean. Dead Bodies Discovered (V3)

(B2) On Friday (November 3), a major rescue action mobilized the various European navies present in the central Mediterranean off the coast of Libya. In all, around 700 people were recovered in six separate rescue actions, according to the Italian Coast Guard, under the coordination of the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (IMRCC).

Two units from the SOPHIA / EUNAVFOR Med operation intervened allowing the rescue of 263 people. The Irish ship LÉ Niamh (P-52) recovered 53 migrants in distress from a ship. While the Spanish ship Cantabria (A-15) rescued two other ships, saving a total of 146 stranded migrants. But other help was not long in coming. The helicopter on board the Cantabria AB 212, on patrol in the area, spotted " another sinking rubber dinghy with people already in the water ". 64 additional people were rescued, two of whom were resuscitated, but 23 bodies were “recovered” . The Cantabria then continued on its way picking up 139 migrants rescued by the Italian frigate “ Bergamini » which participates in the national operation Safe Sea.

23 people drowned ?

One would have thought that these people had been drowned. This is what the first message from the Spanish forces indicated. When the Cantabria arrived in Salerno on Sunday (November 5), with 375 migrants on board, another reality seemed to emerge. It could be homicides, according to the Italian authorities, mainly targeting women. " Someone killed those women, that's obvious. It's not a thunderbolt from the sky said the prefect of Salerno, Salvatore Malfi, according to the print (1). In fact, according to the autopsy, these women aged between 13 and 20, probably from Nigeria, " showed no signs of the violence and drowned “, said the Italian authorities according to AFP.

The results of the European operation

According to a report drawn up by EUNAVFOR MED, the European operation, implemented since June 2015, more than 41 lives have been saved at sea during 500 rescue operations. During these actions, 278 traffickers and suspected traffickers were handed over to the Italian authorities and 117 boats used for the trafficking were sunk, which prevents them from being reused by the traffickers (NB: many of them were anyway out of of use, the traffickers now using many rubber boats of such poor quality that they are for single use).

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

(1) In addition, an Italian coast guard ship, the CP 941 Diciotti, dropped off, on Saturday (November 4), at the port of Reggio Calabria on Saturday 764 migrants: 555 men, 97 women, 112 minors (including 63 unaccompanied) as well as the corpses of 8 people (some of whom were very young, between 8 and 17 years old depending on the italian press).

updated on the exact toll, 20.11 with details on the origin of the death of the victims

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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