Barely a year after the drawing of about 700 people of the coast of Libya, hundreds of East African migrants are believed dead after their boat capsized in the eastern Mediterranean. Witnesses and survivors narrated that the vessel overturned while carrying about 500 people. An unknown number, however swam to boats nearby and were later picked up and taken to Greece.
The incident which occurred on April 8 was first reported by the BBC late Sunday. Ethiopian national Mussa Mohamed Adam stated that he is one of the few migrants who survived the tragedy, reiterating that the boat capsized after he and about 200 other migrants came on board from a smaller boat that departed Egypt a day and a half earlier.
Adam estimated that 500 people were on board at the time, and only 30 were able to swim back to the smaller boat.
Liban Qadar Jama of Somaliland was on another boat that was approaching the point. “I could see the bigger boat sinking,” he disclosed. “We ran with the small boat we were in, as some migrants from the sunk boat desperately swam toward us. We could only save four of them.”
Jama and other witnesses said the survivors spent about nine days drifting at sea before they were picked up by either the Italian or Greek coast guard and taken to Greece.
Unconfirmed reports on social media Monday suggested most of those who drowned were Somalis, trying to escape their war and drought-ravaged homeland.
