Three young sisters tragically drowned when a “dangerously overcrowded” migrant boat attempting to reach Italy capsized after being battered by five-foot waves.
Rescue teams discovered the bodies of the girls, aged 9, 11, and 17, inside the vessel, which had departed from Zuwara, Libya, late Friday night.
According to migrant charity RESQSHIP, the overcrowded boat had been taking on water and was hit by rough seas before their rescue ship, the Nadir, reached the scene.
Among the 65 survivors were three pregnant women, several children, and a seven-month-old baby. One individual reportedly fell overboard earlier in the journey and remains missing.
The rescue operation was first triggered by Alarm Phone, a hotline service that monitors distress calls from migrants at sea. Italy’s coastguard evacuated 14 people—those in urgent medical need and their relatives—to the island of Lampedusa on Saturday afternoon. Later that day, the Nadir transported the remaining survivors along with the bodies of the three sisters.
Meanwhile, officials across southern Europe warn they are struggling with relentless migrant arrivals. Spain’s holiday islands—including Majorca, Ibiza, and Tenerife—have reported near-daily landings, leaving local communities “at their wits’ end,” according to regional authorities. More than 4,700 migrants have arrived in Majorca, Ibiza, and Formentera this summer alone.
Just days ago, a small wooden boat carrying 38 people—including seven children—arrived on a beach near Vila do Bispo in Portugal’s Algarve region. Footage showed dehydrated migrants disembarking as stunned beachgoers looked on. Portuguese police quickly detained the group near Burgau, a popular tourist area.
This surge in crossings comes as small-boat arrivals in the UK have surpassed 50,000 this year—amounting to one migrant every 11 minutes.
How Europe Is Responding
Across the continent, governments are adopting tougher measures:
- Portugal: Migrants arriving by sea are swiftly detained, and many are brought before courts in a rapid crackdown.
- Greece: Authorities have pledged a “disincentive-based policy” by reducing benefits for new arrivals. Processing of asylum claims from North Africa has also been suspended.
- Germany: Chancellor Friedrich Merz has revoked the previous “open door” approach, deploying more police and tightening border security.
- Poland: Prime Minister Donald Tusk has authorized fences at the border and nationwide raids involving tens of thousands of officers, resulting in nearly 1,500 arrests in just two days.
- Italy: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has described Italy’s policies as a “model to follow,” grounding NGO reconnaissance planes and proposing offshore asylum processing in Albania.
The latest tragedy underscores the ongoing dangers faced by migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean, even as European nations move to harden their stance on illegal migration.
