3 young brothers died in perilous central Mediterranean crossing, rescue group says

ROME — Three young African brothers drowned making the perilous central Mediterranean crossing with their parents, a German humanitarian group said Monday, after rescuing 17 people in a chaotic scene that saw survivors drifting away.

Two toddler brothers died when the smugglers' boat sank, while survivors reported that a third child had drowned earlier in their journey from Libya aboard an unseaworthy fiberglass-bottom boat, said Stephen Schrenzenmeier, head of operations aboard the Sea Punk 1.

The body of a 3-year-old was plucked from the sea during the rescue on Sunday, while a 2-year-old died on board the rescue vessel while medical personnel attempted life-saving measures, said the group's spokesman Gerson Reschke. Survivors reported that several more people, including the boys' brother, died during the voyage.

People were drifting in the water on both sides of the boat when the rescue vessel arrived in response to an emergency call. Survivors were screaming and drifting away from each other, while rescuers got into a small boat and picked people up one by one, Schrezenmeier told The Associated Press.

A family of three survived the ordeal, including a pregnant woman who was airlifted to Malta for treatment, while the husband and child have been taken to Italy, Schrezenmeier said. "We really hope they will be reunited very soon,'' he said.

Maltese authorities also airlifted a man who had difficulty breathing after swallowing seawater and had severe hypothermia.

All of the people on board were from sub-Saharan Africa, Schrezenmeier said.

The rescue happened in a part of the Malta search-and-rescue zone that is closer to Italy's southernmost island of Lampedusa than the tiny EU island nation. Schrezenmeier praised both the Maltese and Italian authorities for a quick response to their calls for aid.

Sea Punks 1 transferred 15 survivors and the two bodies to an Italian coast guard vessel, which brought them to Lampedusa. Many showed signs of severe hypothermia, the group said.

Italy's coast guard also picked up some 38 people who were rescued by fishermen, Schrenzenmeier said.

The U.N. Missing Migrant Project puts the number of the dead and missing in the perilous Central Mediterranean at over 24,506 from 2014-2024, many of whom were lost at sea. The project says that number may be greater, as many deaths go unrecorded, with the sightings of so-called ghost ships with noone aboard and remains of people washing ashore in Libya not associated with any known shipwreck.

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Associated Press writer Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.

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Follow AP's coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration