Four out of forty-five migrants headed to Italy survived a shipwreck off the Italian island, Lampedusa. The four survivors told rescuers that they had set off from Sfax in Tunisia on Thursday, last week, and were headed to Italy.
The survivors who reached Lampedusa on Wednesday, are originally from the Ivory Coast and Guinea. The survivors comprise of three men and a woman, including three children.
The boat that left Sfax on Thursday had sank within hours. Two shipwrecks in the area were reported by the Italian coast guard on Sunday but they remain unclear on whether the vessel was one of those.
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They were rescued by a cargo ship before they got transferred to an Italian coast guard vessel, the survivors added.
So far, more than 1,800 people reportedly crossing from North Africa to Europe have been declared dead, this year. Italian patrol boats and humanitarian groups have rescued an approximate of 2000 people of those arrived on Lampedusa.
Tunisia has lately been witnessing a wave of racism against black Africans and hence, Sfax, a port city about 80 miles from Lampedusa is deemed a popular gateway for migrants, state the Tunisian authorities.
