Eleven bodies, then a twelfth. Crew aboard a Sea Watch aircraft spotted the first group of corpses off the Libyan coast on Friday, and on Saturday the same plane found one more.
“Yesterday our aircraft crew sighted 11 bodies, and so far, one more has been discovered on today’s flight. The flight and the search continue,” the Germany-based nonprofit said on X.
A rescue ship and a long detour
The Geo Barents, a search and rescue vessel run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), recovered the 11 bodies seen from the air. The ship also took in 146 migrants over two operations and then reached another boat carrying 20 more people. MSF put the total saved at more than 160.
MSF would not guess at what killed the 11. “We do not know the precise cause of this tragedy, but we know that people continue to die in a desperate attempt to reach safety. This slaughter must end,” the charity said on X.
Italian media reported on Saturday that the bodies would go onto an Italian coast guard ship and be landed temporarily on the island of Lampedusa.
The survivors face a longer trip. On Friday, Italian authorities told the Geo Barents to deliver its latest passengers to Genova, in the north, more than 650 nautical miles away. Ports in nearby Sicily would have been far closer. MSF objected: “This will significantly delay assistance for the … survivors who endured a lot already.”
Rome’s stance on rescue ships
Italy has pressed Tunisia and Libya to do more to keep would-be migrants from setting out. It has also tightened its handling of rescue ship operations, arguing that their presence draws people toward Europe. The charities reject that claim.
The central Mediterranean is the deadliest migrant crossing anywhere. The United Nations has registered more than 20,000 deaths and disappearances there since 2014.
