500 Migrants, Including Newborn and Pregnant Women, Missing in Mediterranean

Distress at Sea: Migrants Vanish in the Mediterranean

Two charities have raised alarm as a boat carrying approximately 500 migrants, including a newborn baby and pregnant women, has disappeared in the treacherous waters of the Mediterranean. The boat, which experienced an engine failure, lost contact with the outside world on Wednesday morning, leaving its passengers stranded and vulnerable to the perils of the open sea.

A Desperate Search for Hope

Alarm Phone, a group dedicated to responding to distress calls from migrant ships, reported the disheartening news of losing contact with the boat. The vessel ran aground in international waters, roughly 320 kilometers north of the Libyan port of Benghazi, and at a considerable distance—over 400 kilometers—from both Malta and the southern Italian island of Sicily.

Despite the gravity of the situation, the search and rescue efforts have proven futile thus far. The Italian NGO Emergency, along with the Ocean Viking ship, which specializes in the rescue of migrants, embarked on a 24-hour mission to locate the missing boat. Regrettably, no traces or wreckage have been found, deepening concerns for the safety and well-being of the migrants.

Race Against Time and Uncertainty

As the search operation continues, hope lingers that the migrants may have been picked up by another vessel or managed to repair their boat’s engine, allowing them to navigate toward the safety of Sicily. The organizations involved remain committed to exhaustively combing the vast expanse of the Mediterranean, driven by the urgent need to find and assist those in distress.

Meanwhile, the Italian coast guard conducted separate rescue operations, saving 423 and 671 migrants in Italian waters. However, the coast guard has not provided any official comment on the missing boat, and Alarm Phone maintains that these rescues are unrelated to the ongoing search efforts.