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UNCHCR: Latest Mediterranean tragedy shows value of search-and-rescue
30.03.2017 08:02 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
While commenting a recent shipwreck within the Mediterranean which may have left up to 146 people dead or missing, Volker Türk, a senior official with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said saving lives at sea must remain a top priority, UN Radio reports.
As to the report, a UNHCR team interviewed the only survivor, a 16-year-old boy, in Lampedusa (Italy) on this week Wed.
Reportedly, he told them the vessel had left Libya two days before and began taking on water after a few hours at sea.
The teenager survived by hanging onto a fuel tank until he was rescued by a Spanish ship with Operation Sophia, a European Union programme to combat migrant smuggling.
«This latest tragedy comes as a stark reminder of the vital importance of robust search and rescue capacities,» Turk stated.
As to the report, Turk admitted the recent boost in sea arrivals to Italy and the lower quality of vessels used by traffickers, which often do not last the journey, make rescue operations more necessary than ever before.
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