Survivors, Rescuers Mourn 900 Migrants Dead On Mediterranean Shipwreck, Including Babies

Up to 900 migrants have drowned to their deaths in the Mediterranean in just the past few days and the number can go way higher if nothing will be done to resolve the refugee crisis. 

According to the UN refugee agency and the aid agency Medecins San Frontieres, more than 700 up to 900 refugees escaping from Libya to Italy could have died at sea this week. 

According to these agencies, the boats of the escaping refugees foundered at sea. The number can rose higher if the refugee crisis will not be resolved soon, especially since the summer season is the peak season for migration. 

The Washington Post reported that migrant influx tends to slow down during the winter and early spring, but as the waters grow warmer and flamer, refugees in droves are traversing the was toward Europe again. "This is the beginning of the peak season," Federico Fossi, a spokesman for the United Nations' refugee agency, said by phone from Rome. "It's intense."

Fossi added that the death toll recorded last week may not even be the real picture. He explained that this is only an estimate and in the span of three days starting last Wednesday, there were already three different shipwrecks that transpired around 35 nautical miles from Libya. 

Survivors of the Mediterranean shipwreck might have gotten lucky but their lives in Sicily is at best, haunted, as reported by New York Times. Two Eritreans who survived the wreck told the Associated Press that ever since the incident, they can still hear the cries of the kids. They can still remember vividly how they tried hard to remove the water out of the boat but to no avail. 

Apparently, there were two boats trying to make out of Libya, with one running on motor while the other one without engine is being towed. However, when the second boat started sinking, the commander of the first bow decided to have the tow line cut. One of the survivors even said that when the line was cut, it whipped back and fatally slashed the neck of a female migrant. 

Filmon Selomon, a 21 year old Eritrean jumped to save himself. He said he was devastated at the time, knowing that many women and kids are at the second boat, crying and wailing in vain. 

The commander of the tow boat is currently being charged for the deaths by the Italian police. 

After the tragedy, pictures started to emerge. Harrowing ones are those of babies. One picture showed a German rescue from the humanitarian organization Sea Watch holding a drowned migrant baby, making sure anyone who sees it will feel the anger, sadness, and the shock of the situation.

The rescuer himself cannot help but feel heartbroken. "I took hold of the forearm of the baby and pulled the light body protectively into my arms at once, as if it were still alive ... It held out its arms with tiny fingers into the air, the sun shone into its bright, friendly but motionless eyes" he shared to Reuters. 

"I began to sing to comfort myself and to give some kind of expression to this incomprehensible, heart-rending moment. Just six hours ago this child was alive," he added.