New drama in the Mediterranean.

The NGO SOS Méditerranée said Thursday, April 23, that it had spotted a dozen bodies off the coast of Libya near an overturned inflatable boat which had been reported in distress with around 130 people on board.

No survivors were found during search operations carried out by the vessel Ocean Viking, chartered by the Marseille-based NGO, as well as three merchant ships.

"Since our arrival there today, we have not found any survivors although we have been able to see at least ten bodies near the wreckage," Luisa Albera, search and rescue coordinator at board of the Ocean Viking.

[STATEMENT] "Today, after hours of searching, our worst fear came true. The # OceanViking team must have witnessed the devastating consequences of the sinking of an inflatable boat."

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➡️https: //t.co/o7GS8oaQKK pic.twitter.com/mCueOYN6XD

- SOS MEDITERRANEE France (@SOSMedFrance) April 22, 2021

SOS Méditerranée was warned on Tuesday by Alarm Phone, a structure of volunteers which alerts on cases of migrants in difficulty, of the presence of three boats in international waters off Libya.

The Ocean Viking vessel, along with three merchant ships, visited the area in rough seas, and one of the merchant ships spotted three bodies.

A device from Frontex, the European border surveillance agency, then located the wreckage of an inflatable boat.

"There is no longer any hope of finding survivors," said Emmanuelle Chaze, a journalist on board the humanitarian ship of the NGO SOS Méditerranée.

"If the boat capsized last night in the weather conditions there was, it's impossible that someone survived. We came across a lot of corpses," she added.

Fear of "new departures" of boats

Last week, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced that the bodies of 41 migrants, including at least one child, had been recovered after the sinking of their makeshift boat off the Tunisian coast.

And the crew of the Ocean Viking specifies that they also searched on Wednesday, without success, for a wooden boat in distress with about 40 people on board.

The weather conditions should improve in the coming days and the vessel will remain in the area.

"We fear new starts," said Emmanuelle Chaze.

At least 453 migrants have died since January 1, 2021 in the Mediterranean, mainly on this central route from Tunisia and Libya, according to the IOM.

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