In brief
The young girl from Sierra Leone, who lost her group after their boat sank, was found by rescuers and handed over to Italian authorities, shedding light on the grave migrant crisis in the region.
An 11-year-old girl has been rescued after an astonishing three-day ordeal, clinging to inner tubes in the treacherous waters of the Mediterranean. Rescuers from the non-governmental organization, Compass Collective, were en route to another emergency when they heard the girl’s desperate calls for help.The unnamed girl, hailing from Sierra Leone, revealed that she had departed with 44 others from Sfax, Tunisia. Tragically, their boat capsized, and she was the sole survivor, with all remaining passengers presumed dead. Each year, thousands of migrants attempting to reach Europe face perilous journeys across the Mediterranean, resulting in numerous fatalities.According to Katja Tempel, a spokesperson for Compass Collective, the rescuers found the girl around 03:20 local time, wearing a basic life jacket and two tire inner tubes around her waist. She explained that their metal vessel sank rapidly due to fierce storms, creating waves as high as 3.5 meters (11.5 feet). Initially, she and two others managed to stay together in the water, but they soon lost contact.After her rescue, the girl was taken to the Italian authorities on the island of Lampedusa, where she was found to have the ability to walk and talk. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported that since it began tracking figures, 30,955 migrants have perished or remain unaccounted for while attempting to cross the Mediterranean. This year alone, Italy has received over 63,000 migrants, as per data shared by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.Despite a decrease in migrant crossings attributed to the strict policies enforced by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government, the ongoing crisis continues to demand international attention, as stories of resilience and tragedy unfold in the Mediterranean Sea.
