List of migrant vessel incidents on the Mediterranean Sea

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Refugee and migrant deaths in the Mediterranean Sea, 2011–2016. Source: UNHCR.[1][2] In following years, deaths were: 3,139 (2017); 2,270 (2018); 1,335 (2019); 1,401 (2020).[3]

This article is a list of migrant vessel incidents on the Mediterranean Sea. The incidents have been referred to as part of the European migrant crisis.

Mediterranean migrant
deaths by quarter[4]
Per 1,000 arrivals
Q1 2015 46.5
Q4 2014 7.8
Q3 2014 30.6
Q2 2014 13.2
Q1 2014 4.2

Prior to 2015[]

Date Location Passengers Confirmed
deaths
Missing Known
survivors
21 May 2007 off Malta 53 0 53 0
27 March 2009 off Libya cca. 250 98 cca. 131 21
March/April 2009 off Libya cca. 250 0 cca. 250 0
March/April 2009 off Libya cca. 250 0 cca. 250 0
6 April 2011 off Lampedusa cca. 300 20 130+ 51
3 October 2013 off Lampedusa 500+ 359 30+ 155
11 October 2013 off Lampedusa 200+ 34 20+ 147
11 September 2014 off Malta 500+ 0 500+ 9
15 September 2014 off Libya cca. 250 0 cca. 250 36

2015[]

Mediterranean situation in 2015
List of migrant vessel incidents on the Mediterranean Sea is located in Mediterranean
Sicily
Sicily
Lampedusa
Lampedusa
Rhodes
Rhodes
Tripoli
Tripoli
List of migrant vessel incidents on the Mediterranean Sea (Mediterranean)
Date2015
LocationMap shows key locations in the Mediterranean Sea
CauseVessels capsized
OutcomeSeveral vessels sank, rescues in process
DeathsOver 1200 (estimated; 35 confirmed) 3771 (subsequent UNHCR figure)[3]
Missing450

2015 Summary[]

Date Location Passengers Confirmed deaths Missing Known survivors
13 April[5] off Libya cca. 550 9 400+ 144–150
19 April off Libya cca. 850 24 800+ 28
20 April off Rhodes 96 3 0 93
3 May[6] off Libya 3500 (multiple vessels) 10+ ? ?
5 May off Catania Unknown 5 40+ 197
5 May off Crotone 250+ 3 Unknown 250
29 May[7] off Lampedusa 234+ 17 Unknown 217
23 July off Libya 300+ 40+ 40+ 283
27 July off Libya 522 13 ? ?
1 August off Libya 780 5 ? ?
5 August off Libya 370 26 200 ?
11 August off Libya 120 50 50+ ?
15 August[8][9] off Libya cca. 400 49 0 cca. 350
18 August[10] off Turkey Unknown 6 Unknown 0
25 August off Libya cca. 450 50 0 cca. 400
27 August off Libya ? 160 200+ ?
30 August off Libya ? 7 ? ?
1 September off Kos ? 11 ? ?
6 September off Lampedusa ? 20 ? ?
13 September off Farmakonissi 112 34 ? ?
15 September off Turkey 250 22 ? ?
30 September off Lesbos ? 2 11 ? 45

The number of reported deaths of migrants crossing the Mediterranean towards Italy increased in April 2015; a number of different incidents resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 people (UNHCR recorded 3,771 dead or missing during the course of the year)[2] and led to the staging of rescue operations.[11]

April[]

13 April[]

On 13 April 2015, a vessel sank off the Libyan coast with up to 550 migrants on board. More than 400 people are believed to have drowned.[12] 144–150 people were rescued and were taken to a hospital in Southern Italy.[13] The capsizing occurred 60 nautical miles (110 km) off the Libyan coast.[14]

Air and sea search operations started in the location of the shipwreck, looking for survivors. Nine bodies were recovered; the Italian Coast Guard stated that "no more survivors have been found".

16 April[]

On 16 April, four immigrants arriving in Sicily said they were the only survivors of a sunken ship. They said that 41 people had drowned when their vessel overturned and sank shortly after departing from Libya.[15][16] In an unrelated incident, 15 people were arrested in Sicily following reports that they had thrown 12 other passengers overboard, causing them to drown. According to eyewitnesses, a fight had broken out between Christian and Muslim groups on a boat that left Libya on 14 April, resulting in 12 Christians being thrown overboard.[17][18]

19 April[]

Cross made with wood of broken immigration boats in Lampedusa

On 19 April, another boat that had just left the port city of Zuwarah, Tripoli capsized off the Libyan coast, during the night, with up to 850 migrants aboard. 28 people were rescued.[19] The incident happened 60 miles (100 km) off the Libyan coast and 120 miles (190 km) south of the southern Italian island, Lampedusa.[20] The boat may have capsized when people on board moved to one side when a ship approached. Italian prosecutors say that a Bangladeshi survivor estimated 950 people were on board, and smugglers locked hundreds of the migrants in the ship's hold.[21] Among those on board were about 350 Eritreans, 200 Senegalese, as well as migrants from Syria, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Gambia, Ivory Coast and Ethiopia.[22][23]

The Maltese Navy and Italian Coast Guard began mounting a rescue operation.[24] Despite 18 ships joining the rescue effort, only 28 survivors and 24 bodies were pulled from the water by nightfall.[25][21] This incident is cited by some as the shipwreck with the highest death toll in the history of the Mediterranean.[26] Among other incidents, however, the sinking of the SS Oria in 1944, with a death toll of over 4,000, claimed more lives.

On 21 April Italian officials reported that the Tunisian captain of the boat had been charged with reckless multiple homicide. It was also reported that the children on board had drowned because they were trapped on the boat's lower two levels.[25][27]

The Italian Navy, at the request of the Prosecutor of Catania, has made available the minesweepers Gaeta and Vieste, along with the corvette Sfinge, for search and localization of the vessel sank.

On 7 May 2015 a wreck of a length of 25 metres was located approximately 85 miles north east of the Libyan coast at a depth of 375 metres. The Italian Navy said it was correlated with the wreck of the vessel sank on 18 April.[28]

20 April[]

Another boat carrying migrants reportedly sank off the east coast of Rhodes, Greece on 20 April, after striking a reef. Initial reports suggested that there had been at least three deaths. 93 people were rescued from the water, with 30 individuals hospitalized.[29] In contrast to the other wrecked ships, which have come from Libya, this boat had departed from Turkey.[30]

Two further reports of ships in distress in the waters between Libya and Italy appeared on 20 April.[31] It was stated that one boat contained up to 150 people, with the other containing up to 300. The precise locations of these boats was not revealed, and it was unclear whether these reports refer to separate vessels.[32] The Italian and Maltese navies are reported as having responded to these calls.[25][32] On Tuesday 21 April it was reported that all 450 passengers had been rescued, despite initial reports of deaths.[33]

May[]

5 May[]

Continue rescue operations and landings of migrants on the coasts of Sicily and Calabria. The ship Phoenix arrives in Pozzallo carrying 369 migrants. Other 675 immigrants have landed in Augusta and in 300 were rescued off the coast of Calabria. On ship container Zeran, arrived in Catania with 197 people, there were five dead bodies. According to Save the Children 40 other immigrants have lost their lives at sea.[34] In Crotone the Panamanian tanker Prince I brought 250 migrants rescued in the Channel of Sicily, but also the bodies of three others, two women and a man, recovered at sea during a rescue.

Meanwhile, also triggered the alarm diseases: about 150 of the 675 migrants arrived on the ship Vega in Augusta were put in isolation in the port for suspected cases of chickenpox and scabies. For doctors there is no danger of contagion and the situation would be under control. Most patients are tested and debilitated by a wait of two months in warehouses in Libya with little food and water.

In Trapani, 104 immigrants arrived on a cargo ship; another 483 arrived in Palermo on the Italian Navy ship Borsini. This also led to a growth of the number of smugglers arrested by the Italian police forces.

Off the coast of Calabria, a rescue operation at about 300 migrants on board a fishing vessel in poor buoyancy occurred about 80 miles from the coast of Calabria.

29 May[]

The Italian Navy rescued 217 migrants who were on board the boats adrift in the channel of Sicily. Also recovered 17 corpses. In the last 24 hours rescued 3,300 migrants.[7]

July[]

23 July[]

283 migrants aboard three boats were rescued by the German warship Schleswig-Holstein at few miles from the Libyan coast and landed in the port of Augusta in Sicily, while 40 are missing or dead according to the testimonies of survivors.

August[]

15 August[]

49 migrants killed by fumes while packed into hold and prevented from exiting the hold by the ship's crew off the coast of Libya; survivors were rescued by the Italian Navy and the ship's captain and crew were arrested.[8][9]

18 August[]

Six migrants drown off the coast of Turkey attempting to reach a Greek island.[10]

25 August[]

50 migrants killed by fumes while packed into the hold and prevented from exiting by the ship's crew off the coast of Libya; survivors were rescued by a Swedish unit. On the boat there traveled another 400 migrants who were rescued.

September[]

A further 96 confirmed deaths were recorded in September 2015.

2016[]

2016 Summary[]

According to UNHCR, annual deaths and missing peaked in 2016, at 5,096.[2]

21 September[]

On 21 September 2016, a boat capsized off the Egyptian coast with around 600 migrants on board in the Mediterranean Sea. 204 bodies were recovered (including at least 30 children) and around 160 people were rescued, as tens of people remain missing, with approximately 300 people predicted to have died. Four people were arrested for trafficking and breaking capacity laws. The incident may be the worst this year in the Mediterranean Sea.[35][36][37][38]

3 November[]

On 3 November 2016, around 240 people died in two migrant boat capsizing incidents off the coast of Libya. 29 people survived the first wreck, with about 120 deaths reported. Only two people survived the second wreck, with again around 120 deaths reported.[39] Another hundred people are believed to have drowned off the coast when their boat sank after they were abandoned off Libya without a motor on 17 November. 27 survivors were transported to Italy. An estimated 4,700 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea in 2016.[40]

2017[]

2017 Summary[]

According to UNHCR, annual deaths and missing in 2017 stood at 3,139.[2]

2018[]

2018 Summary[]

According to UNHCR, annual deaths and missing in 2018 stood at 2,270.[2]

October[]

On 8 October, Italian authorities rescued 22 Europe-bound migrants from a boat carrying around 50 people. At the time of the rescue, the bodies of 13 women were also found, and it was later revealed that others were still missing. On 16 October, Italian authorities found the bodies of at least 12 people who had died in the incident.[41]

November[]

In November, Italian coast guards rescued 149 Europe-bound migrants after their boat capsized. Italian coast guards found five dead bodies afterwards and confirmed that the death toll from the incident totalled at least 18.[42]

2019[]

2019 Summary[]

According to UNHCR, annual deaths and missing in 2019 stood at 1,335.[2]

2020[]

2020 Summary[]

According to UNHCR, annual deaths and missing in 2020 stood at 1,401.[2]

2021[]

2021 Summary[]

As of early December, according to UNHCR, deaths and missing in 2021 were estimated at 1,589.[2]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Refugees/Migrants Emergency Response - MEDITERRANEAN SITUATION". UNHCR. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Operational Data Portal, Refugee situations, Mediterranean Situation". data2.unhcr.org. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Mediterranean Situation". data2.unhcr.org. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Italy calls for help rescuing migrants as 40 more reportedly drown". The Guardian. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  5. ^ "Hundreds of migrants believed to have drowned off Libya after boat capsizes". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  6. ^ "Immigrati, oltre 3.500 in arrivo Almeno una decina i morti in Libia". www.tgcom24.mediaset.it. TGCOM24. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Notizie Attualità La Marina recupera 17 cadaveri al largo della Libia. Salvati 217 migranti". www.ilsole24ore.com. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  8. ^ a b "40 migrants 'killed by fumes' in hold of boat off Libya". Irish Independent. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  9. ^ a b Povoledo, Elisabetta (18 August 2015). "Italy Arrests Ship's Captain and Crew Over Suffocation Deaths of 49 Migrants". New York Times. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  10. ^ a b Corder, Mike (18 August 2015). "6 migrants drown off Turkish coast trying to reach Greece". Morning Journal. AP. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  11. ^ "Sea of Death: Many Migrants Drown Trying to Reach Italy". NBC News. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  12. ^ Scherer, Steve; Jones, Gavin; Nebehay, Stephanie. "400 migrants die in shipwreck off Libya, survivors say". Reuters. No. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  13. ^ "Several minors among victims of Libya shipwreck". News24. No. 15 April 2015. Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Libya migrants: Hundreds feared drowned in Mediterranean". BBC. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  15. ^ "At least 41 drown off Libyan coast". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  16. ^ "41 more migrants feared drowned in new shipwreck". ITV.com. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  17. ^ "Migrants charged with throwing 12 Christians overboard". The Irish Times. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  18. ^ "Muslim migrants 'threw Christians overboard during row on boat from Libya to Italy', say police". The Independent. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  19. ^ Bonomolo, Alessandra; Krichgaessner, Stephanie. "UN says 800 migrants dead in boat disaster as Italy launches rescue of two more vessels". Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  20. ^ "700 migrants feared dead in Mediterranean shipwreck". The Guardian. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  21. ^ a b "Survivor: Smugglers locked hundreds in hold of capsized boat". Associated Press. 20 April 2015. Archived from the original on 21 April 2015.
  22. ^ "Mediterranean boat capsizing: deadliest incident on record". UNHCR. 21 April 2015.
  23. ^ "Mediterranean boat disaster: '200 Senegalese' among dead". BBC News. 30 April 2015.
  24. ^ "Updated – Joseph Muscat and Matteo Renzi call for urgent EU summit meeting". Malta Today. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  25. ^ a b c Bonomolo, Alessandra; Kirchgaessner, Stephanie. "Migrant boat captain arrested as survivors of sinking reach Italy". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  26. ^ "Libya migrant boat sinking: Up to 700 feared dead as migrant ship capsizes in waters south of Italy". 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  27. ^ "Mediterranean capsized migrants' boat's captain charged". BBC News. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  28. ^ "Localizzato il barcone della tragedia costata 800 vittime". ilsole24ore.com. ilsole24ore.com. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  29. ^ "Three reported dead as new footage emerges of migrants being rescued off Greek island of Rhodes". The Independent. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  30. ^ Zikakou, Ioanna. "Tragedy with 200 Migrants Leaves 3 Dead in Rhodes". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  31. ^ "Two more Mediterranean migrant boats issue distress calls as EU ministers meet". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  32. ^ a b "New Mediterranean migrant distress calls as EU meets". BBC News. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  33. ^ Goldstein, Sasha. "Captain, crew member arrested in Mediterranean migrant ship disaster; EU leaders plan to 'destroy' smuggler boats". Daily News. New York. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  34. ^ "'Dozens die' as migrant boat sinks". 5 May 2015 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  35. ^ Graham-Harrison, Emma (22 September 2016). "Crewmembers arrested after at least 50 migrants die when boat capsizes" – via www.theguardian.com.
  36. ^ 10 women and 31 children die in boat accident off Egypt's coast 21/09/2016 www.africanews.com, accessed 21 May 2021
  37. ^ "Death toll rises to 52 after migrant boat capsizes off Egypt". Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  38. ^ "Death toll in migrant shipwreck off Egypt rises to 202". 27 September 2016 – via www.reuters.com.
  39. ^ "Up to 240 dead in migrant shipwreck off Libya: UNHCR". The New Indian Express.
  40. ^ Kingsley, Patrick (17 November 2016). "100 people feared drowned as boat sinks off Libya". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  41. ^ "Italian coastguard finds bodies of migrants who drowned at sea". The Guardian. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  42. ^ "Italy recovers 5 more bodies from sunken migrant boat". Associated Press. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
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