An 11-year-old girl from Sierra Leone is the sole survivor of a tragic migrant boat disaster, which claimed the lives of 44 others.
The girl, who was rescued from the Mediterranean Sea after a harrowing three-day ordeal, was one of 45 people who set off from Tunisia with the hope of reaching Europe.
According to migrant rescue agencies, the girl was found after spending three days adrift at sea following the sinking of the boat she was traveling on. CompassCollective, the organization involved in the rescue mission, confirmed that the girl had been the only one found alive.
Rescue operations began after crew members aboard one of CompassCollective’s vessels, which was en route to another rescue mission, heard cries for help in the darkness. They managed to pull the girl from the water around 2:20 a.m. local time.
The girl, who was reportedly floating on two improvised flotation devices made from tire tubes, was weak, hypothermic and without food or water, but she was still alert when found. She explained to rescuers that the boat had capsized during a storm while en route to the European Union.
Once rescued, the girl was transported to a hospital in Lampedusa, Italy, where she was reported to be recovering well, despite her exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Italian authorities have launched search and rescue operations to locate additional survivors. However, no bodies or clothing have been found near the site of the wreck.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has confirmed that more than 24,300 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014, as migrants attempt to cross from North Africa to Europe. In 2024 alone, over 2,000 people have drowned or disappeared along this perilous route.
