A 10-Year-Old Migrant Girl Reaches Lampedusa Alone Amid Surge of Arrivals
A young girl, believed to be around the age of 10, has recently arrived in Lampedusa after embarking on a perilous journey alone. Rescuers confirmed her safe landing on Wednesday, following her rescue from a small boat that had set sail from Sfax, Tunisia. The tiny vessel was intercepted and brought to safety by the NGO Trotamar III, who helped disembark the young girl at dawn. The rescuers indicated that the girl appears to be from Sierra Leone, although the reasons behind her solitary voyage remain unclear.
In a significant influx of migrants, a total of 356 individuals landed on the Sicilian island overnight prior to the girl's rescue. They were aboard five different boats, including one that was carrying 111 passengers. This group was rescued by a collaborative effort involving port authorities, finance police, and Frontex officials. The first boat, which transported 111 people, included migrants from Egypt, Eritrea, Pakistan, Syria, Sudan, and Somalia, among whom were 13 women and 11 minors.
The other vessels reported carrying varying numbers of passengers, ranging from a minimum of 45 to a maximum of 87, and included individuals from Bangladesh, Syria, Morocco, Sudan, and Iran. All of these passengers confirmed that they had departed from Libya, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by those seeking refuge and safety in Europe. The plight of the young girl, navigating such treacherous waters on her own, epitomizes the desperate circumstances many migrants face in their pursuit of a better life.
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