Nine migrants, including little girl, drown in Malta's search and rescue area

22 rescued by the Italian Coast Guard at Malta's request

April 11, 2024| Times of Malta 1 min read
The Italian coast guard rescued 22 migrants and recovered nine bodies. AFP file photo. The Italian coast guard rescued 22 migrants and recovered nine bodies. AFP file photo.

Nine migrants including a little girl died in waters within Malta's search and rescue zone on Wednesday while another 22 were rescued, the Italian Coast Guard said.

It said that at Malta's request it deployed a launch to rescue the migrants after their small boat sank 30km south of the Italian island of Lampedusa.

The Coast Guard said the operation was particularly complex because of very rough seas with waves of up to 2.50 metres.

The migrants were taken to Lampedusa, with some of them suffering severe hypothermia.

An Italian Coast Guard plane was also used, at the request of the Maltese coordinating authority, to search for missing migrants and nine lifeless bodies were recovered, including that of a little girl.  

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