Moments from safety, migrants die trying to reach Europe

Source: AP-Excite

By TRISHA THOMAS, ANDREA ROSA and FRANK JORDANS

CATANIA, Sicily (AP) — Young men piled over each other, some shimmying up ropes dangling from the towering rescue ship and others falling into the churning sea. Women and children were the last off the stricken dinghy during a chaotic Mediterranean rescue in which at least five migrants were crushed to death and more were feared drowned.

Dramatic footage shot by a seaman aboard the Maltese freighter showed the weekend rescue of more than 100 West Africans aboard the flimsy boat off the coast of Libya. Survivors were brought Tuesday to the Sicilian port of Catania.

The video, obtained by The Associated Press, highlights the danger of marine rescue, where safety and tragedy too often lie just moments apart. With tens of thousands trying to cross the sea on small boats launched by human traffickers from Libya — and hundreds dying in the attempt — the question of how best to save migrants from drowning has taken center stage in Europe.

Crew members interviewed by the AP said everyone aboard the cargo ship Zeran had undergone rescue training. But while a previous rescue several weeks ago happened calmly without any loss of life, on Sunday elation at the prospect of being saved quickly turned to panic.

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Migrants sit as they wait after arriving at the Catania harbor, Sicily, southern Italy, Tuesday, May 5, 2015. The arrivals are stretching Italy's already overtaxed migrant reception centers, with new arrivals being sent inland to be screened for asylum or in many cases, to continue on their journeys north unofficially. Dozens of passengers in a crowded rubber boat fell into the sea and likely drowned as a rescue vessel neared, survivors reported as they arrived in Italy Tuesday to join thousands of other migrants rescued in the Mediterranean in recent days. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

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