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Witness History: The Lampedusa shipwreck tragedy

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The Lampedusa shipwreck tragedy

28/09/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, The Lampedusa shipwreck tragedy

In 2013, a ship carrying more than 500 migrants sank off the coast of Lampedusa.

Hundreds died when a fire started on board a boat carrying more than 500 migrants, just 800 metres away from the Italian island of Lampedusa in 2013.

On 3 October 2013, a fishing boat taking more than 500 migrants from Libya sank 800 metres off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost island.

It was one of the worst migrant shipwrecks on the Mediterranean Sea. As it happened so close to the shore, hundreds of dead bodies were recovered and their coffins were put on show for the world to see.

The tragedy led to a joint European effort to tackle the migrant crisis, but the numbers embarking on the journey, and dying, continued to rise.

One of the survivors, Ambesager Araya, and the man who rescued him, Vito Fiorino, speak with George Crafer.

(Photo: Vito Fiorino and Ambesager Araya. Credit: Vito Fiorino)

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