11-year-old girl rescued in Mediterranean after three days adrift on inner tubes

An 11-year-old girl was saved after spending three days in the Mediterranean Sea, holding onto inner tubes amidst stormy conditions. The non-governmental organization Compass Collective reported that its rescuers were en route to a different emergency situation when they detected her cries for assistance. The girl, whose name was not disclosed, stated she was from Sierra Leone and had departed from Sfax, Tunisia, with 44 other individuals. Their vessel had capsized, and the remaining migrants were believed to have perished. Annually, thousands of migrants attempting to reach Europe perish during the perilous Mediterranean crossing. Katja Tempel, a spokeswoman for Compass Collective, informed the BBC that personnel aboard the Trotamar III vessel located the young Sierra Leonean migrant at approximately 03:20 (02:20 GMT) on Wednesday. She was equipped with a basic life jacket and two tyre inner tubes around her waist. The girl recounted that “the metal boat she had been on had sunk within seconds as strong storms with 3.5m-high (11.5ft) waves hit and that she – and two others – were together in the water for a while but then lost contact.” Following the rescue, she was transferred to Italian authorities on the island of Lampedusa, where she demonstrated the ability to walk and speak. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that 30,955 migrants have either died or are still unaccounted for while traversing the Mediterranean over the past decade since it began documenting these statistics. Italy has experienced the most significant impact, having taken in over 63,000 migrants this year alone, according to figures provided by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. Nevertheless, these figures have decreased, partially attributed to the stringent policies implemented by the right-wing Italian government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.