LAMPEDUSA, Italy — At least three migrants, including two young children, died during a perilous sea crossing from Libya to Italy, according to a German humanitarian group that rescued dozens of survivors on Saturday in the central Mediterranean.
The German NGO RESQSHIP said in a statement that it found a rubber boat drifting without power south of Italy’s Lampedusa island late Saturday afternoon, after it was initially spotted by a European Union Frontex surveillance aircraft.
“By the time our crew reached the rubber boat around 4:30 p.m., it was too late to help some of the people,” the group said.
Two deceased children, aged 3 and 4, were recovered from the boat. According to a RESQSHIP paramedic identified only as Rania, the children likely died the previous day due to dehydration. One adult man, found unconscious, could not be resuscitated and was declared dead on board. Survivors also told the crew that another person had drowned on Friday after falling into the sea.
The rescue vessel transported 59 survivors to Lampedusa. Many of them suffered from chemical burns caused by a mix of saltwater and leaked fuel — a frequent danger in overcrowded, unseaworthy rubber boats. Six people in critical condition, including two children and four adults, were urgently transferred to the Italian coast guard to be brought ashore for immediate medical care.
RESQSHIP said the ill-fated journey began Wednesday from the Libyan port of Zawiya. The vessel’s engine reportedly failed after just one day at sea, leaving those on board stranded and exposed to the elements for several days without shelter, food, or water.
Lampedusa, a small island situated between Tunisia and the larger Italian island of Sicily, is often the first point of arrival for migrants attempting to reach the European Union from North Africa. The central Mediterranean route remains one of the deadliest migration corridors in the world.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly 25,000 people have died or gone missing on this route since 2014, including roughly 1,700 in 2024 and at least 378 so far in 2025.
Humanitarian groups continue to call for greater search-and-rescue efforts and safer migration pathways as desperate migrants flee conflict, poverty, and instability in their home countries. Despite political tensions over migration within the EU, NGOs like RESQSHIP say the humanitarian toll underscores the urgency of increased international coordination.
