The man claiming to be the only survivor was reportedly taken to hospital after being rescued.
(file picture) A boat carrying migrants in the Mediterranean (Image: Getty)
More than 100 migrants lost their lives in the Mediterranean while attempting to reach European shores from Libya, the humanitarian organisation Sea Watch has reported. Just one person, who said to be on a vessel thought to be carrying 117 people, has claimed to have survived the alleged shipwreck.
The alleged survivor was rescued by a Tunisian fishing boat, and was reportedly taken to hospital. The horror incident reportedly happened last week, when a vessel carrying migrants is said to have sent out an SOS message shortly after leaving the African country.
Seabird, an aircraft monitoring the area normally crossed by migrant vessels, failed to locate the boat, immediately prompting fears of a shipwreck.
Alarm Phone, a hotline for boatpeople in distress, was notified at 2pm on Friday, December 19 about an incident. The ship carrying migrants was said to have left Libya at approximately 8pm the day prior, December 18.
Alarm Phone said: “We fear that overnight another shipwreck happened. At 2pm, Alarm Phone had been alerted to a boat which had left from Zuwara with 117 people onboard.”
The organisation said to have warned the relevant coast guards and non-profit organisations dealing with similar incidents, and added it tried to contact the boat “the whole day” via satellite phone – albeit with no success.
News of a possible survivor came two days later, Alarm Phone said, on December 21. The organisation said: “We received information according to which some Tunisian fishermen found the sole survivor on a wooden boat.
“He claimed he had departed from Zuwara two days prior and to be the only survivor.”
The man claimed weather conditions dramatically changed for the worse just hours after the departure from Libya, with strong winds battering the area.
The man was reportedly brought to a hospital in Tunisia, and Alarm Phone said it was trying to verify the claims as well as getting in touch directly with the fishermen and the man, but had not yet been successful in its attempts.
Seabird said to have conducted an aerial search of the area but found no survivors or visible evidence of a shipwreck.
