Shipwreck of April 22, 2021 in the Mediterranean
On April 22, 2021, a boat carrying around 130 migrants of sub-Saharan origin sank off the coast of Libya. The disaster led to the death of all the people sailing on the small boat.
Situation[edit]
On April 23, 2021, the NGO SOS Méditerranée, based in Marseille, informed the media that it had spotted around ten bodies off the coast of Libya near an overturned inflatable boat which had already been reported in distress. The boat carried 130 people on board. No survivors were found during the search operations carried out by the ship Ocean Viking, chartered by this NGO, as well as three merchant ships.[1][2]
The NGO Alarm Phone blames this sinking on the European side denying responsibility for the boat, and the incompetence of the coast guards.[3]
Consequences[edit]
This tragedy increases the human death toll from shipwrecks in the central Mediterranean. According to the International Organization for Migration, at least 355 people had already been known to have lost their lives in this maritime zone in 2021.[4] Adding the people missing as a result of this shipwreck, the cumulative death toll is 453 migrants.[1]
Reactions[edit]
The French NGO SOS Méditerranée accused the European Union and Libya by issuing this statement: “States are abdicating their responsibility to coordinate search and rescue operations, leaving private actors and civil society to fill the deadly void they leave behind them. We can see the result of this deliberate inaction in the sea around us."[5]
According to Pope Francis, “One hundred and thirty migrants died in the sea. They are persons, human lives, who for two entire days implored in vain for help, help that didn’t arrive. Let us pray for these brothers and sisters, let us interrogate all of ourselves about this latest tragedy. It is a moment of shame."[6]
Notes and references[edit]
- ^ a b "Méditerranée : nouveau naufrage avec 130 migrants à bord, aucun survivant" [Mediterranean: new shipwreck with 130 migrants on board, no survivors]. France 24 (in French). 23 April 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ "Récap – Laissés dans l'obscurité : un récit du naufrage du 22 avril depuis l'Ocean Viking" [Forgotten: An Account of the Sinking on 22 April from the Ocean Viking]. Sos Mediterranee (in French). 22 April 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ Guichard, Thomas (24 April 2021). "Anatomie d'un naufrage qui a fait 130 morts en Méditerranée" [Shipwreck left 130 dead in the Mediterranean]. Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ Chaze, Emmanuelle (23 April 2021). "REPORTAGE. Impuissants, les sauveteurs de SOS Méditerranée constatent 130 morts au large de la Libye" [REPORT. Powerless, SOS Méditerranée rescuers report 130 deaths off the coast of Libya]. Ouest France (in French). Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ "Plus de 100 migrants meurent dans un naufrage au large de la Libye : "Ces morts ne sont pas un accident"" [More than 100 migrants die in shipwreck off Libya: “These deaths are not an accident”]. infomigrants.net (in French). 23 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ d'Emilio, Frances (25 April 2021). "Pope: Migrants begged for help at sea, shamefully ignored". APNews. Associated Press. Retrieved 25 February 2024.