From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Mon Sep 01 2008 - 08:26:08 EDT
70 African migrants missing in Mediterranean
Posted 31st August 2008
GENEVA: A harrowing boat journey across the Mediterranean left about 70 African migrants missing after rough seas capsized the craft, the United Nations refugee agency said Thursday, calling on Malta to release the eight survivors from detention.
A Maltese fishing trawler rescued the eight on Tuesday. The authorities said the survivors first told the fishermen that 10 people were missing, but later said that as many as 70 people from Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan made the sea voyage with them.
A Maltese military plane searched the seas Wednesday afternoon, but the authorities called off the search at nightfall and no one was found.
The refugee agency said the Maltese armed forces recoverd three bodies.
“If no more survivors are found, this would be one of the deadliest losses at sea involving people trying to reach Europe from North Africa by sea,” said a statement by the UN high commissioner for refugees.
The high commission said that its head of office in Malta visited the eight survivors and found them “in poor physical and mental condition after their ordeal on the high seas and subsequent detention.”
It added that said the group included refugees and asylum seekers and should not be held any longer. Instead, they should be given medical care and counseling.
Thousands of Africans try to make the journey each year to Europe by often rickety vessels, and many die. The authorities from Malta, Italy and other Mediterranean nations have been trying to crack down on clandestine migrants.
The high commission said that refugees fleeing war or persecution make up a significant portion of those arriving by sea in Malta and Italy.
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