ROME — A tragic incident in the central Mediterranean Sea resulted in the drowning of three young African brothers amid a perilous journey with their family, as reported by a German humanitarian organization on Monday. The first two brothers lost their lives when the boat operated by smugglers capsized, while it is believed that a third child had previously drowned during their voyage from Libya on an unsteady fiberglass boat. Stephen Schrenzenmeier, the operations leader on the Sea Punk 1, shared these details of the heart-wrenching incident.
During the rescue operation on Sunday, rescuers recovered the body of a 3-year-old boy from the water, while a 2-year-old succumbed to their injuries on the rescue vessel despite attempts by medical staff to save him, according to spokesman Gerson Reschke. Furthermore, survivors indicated that additional passengers, including the boys’ sibling, had also perished during their strenuous journey.
When the rescue team arrived in response to an emergency alert, they discovered survivors drifting in the water, calling out in panic and separated from one another. Rescuers utilized a small boat to reach and pull individuals from the water, as described by Schrenzenmeier.
Among the survivors, a family of three managed to endure the harrowing experience. A pregnant woman was transported to Malta for necessary medical care, while her husband and child were taken to Italy, with hopes of a swift reunion, as expressed by Schrenzenmeier.
In another aid effort, Maltese officials airlifted a man who was struggling for breath due to seawater ingestion and was suffering from extreme hypothermia. All individuals aboard the vessel were confirmed to be from sub-Saharan Africa.
The rescue operation took place within Malta’s designated search-and-rescue zone, located closer to Italy’s southern island of Lampedusa than to Malta itself. Schrenzenmeier commended both Maltese and Italian authorities for their responsive actions to the humanitarian group’s distress calls.
Following the rescue, the Sea Punk 1 transferred 15 survivors along with the two deceased individuals to an Italian coast guard ship, which then transported them to Lampedusa. Many of the rescued appeared to be experiencing severe hypothermia.
Italy’s coast guard also assisted in recovering an additional 38 individuals who had been saved by local fishermen, according to Schrenzenmeier’s updates.
The U.N. Missing Migrant Project reported that over 24,506 individuals are estimated to have died or gone missing in the treacherous Central Mediterranean between 2014 and 2024, with many presumed lost at sea. The actual number may be higher due to unrecorded fatalities, including sightings of abandoned vessels and human remains washing ashore in Libya, which are not linked to any specific shipwreck.
