Diary from Pozzallo/2

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13 March 2018

This morning 72 people, including 3 women and 14 minors, arrived from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, South Sudan and Guinea. Migrants were rescued over the course of two different events. The first group floated in the sea for two days on a wooden boat before coming across the Everest fishing vessel on to which they climbed. Hasin, an 18-year-old boy, received by the Medu Team, said that after two long days in the sea they saw a boat, were able reach it and screamed for help. But nobody noticed them. So they tried to climb on it. There were 50 of them and only 29 survived. Among the persons who drowned, there were 4 women, two of whom were pregnant, and a close friend of Hasin. The second group, onboard a dinghy, intercepted the same Everest vessel. Some people jumped into the water to reach the vessel. With the help of the other migrants, already onboard the vessel, more than 50 people were rescued. The others, who remained on the dinghy, were intercepted by the Libyan coast guard who violently deported them to Libya. Among the people deported to Libya, there were two girls aged 10 and 7 separated from their parents. A witness told the Medu Team that the bodies of two newborns were also on the inflatable boat deported to Libya.

Witnessed by Medu Team at the Pozzallo Hotspot on the 3rd of March 2018

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