The Lampedusa shipwreck tragedy
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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The Lampedusa shipwreck tragedy
Duration: 01:26
Broadcasts
- Thu 28 Sep 2023 07:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Thu 28 Sep 2023 11:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Thu 28 Sep 2023 17:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Thu 28 Sep 2023 21:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Fri 29 Sep 2023 02:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
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Witness History
History as told by the people who were there
