26 teenage girls found dead at sea
(CNN)Italian
authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of death of
26 teenage girls whose bodies were recovered in the Mediterranean Sea on
Sunday.
The girls,
aged 14-18, are believed to have been migrants from Niger and Nigeria
who had embarked on the treacherous route to Europe from Libya over the
weekend.
Lorena Ciccotti,
Salerno's head of police, told CNN that autopsies would be carried out
on Tuesday and that coroners would be investigating whether the girls
had been tortured or sexually abused.
Their
bodies were found close to a flimsy rubber dinghy that had all but sunk
when rescuers arrived, Ciccotti said. Aid workers had described a grim
scene: survivors hanging onto the remains of the vessel as the girls'
bodies floated nearby.
Their
rescue was one of four separate rescue operations carried out in the
Mediterranean over the weekend. In total, 400 people were brought aboard
the Spanish vessel Cantabria before disembarking at the Italian port
town of Salerno.
Among them were 90 women and 52 minors, including a week-old-baby, authorities said.
Libya
is a well-known jumping-off point for migrants seeking refuge on
European shores. Many from sub-Saharan Africa, are fleeing war and
persecution; others from impoverished nations in Africa, the Middle East
and South Asia have made the treacherous journey in search of better
economic opportunities.
The North
African country is a hotbed for human traffickers, whose network of
smuggling operations have gone widely unchecked due to Libya's lack of
effective central governance.
On
Monday, Italian police arrested two men, an Egyptian and a Libyan
accused with human smuggling. The men are not believed to be connected
to the boat that was transporting the teenage girls.
Since the start of this year, 2,839 migrants have died on the central Mediterranean route, according to the International Organization for Migration. 150,982 migrants have reached European shores, of which around 74% are Italian arrivals.
In
August, Italy deployed two military ships to Libya, offering training
to the Libyan Tripoli Coast Guard following an agreement signed between
the Italian Interior Minister, the Tripoli government and various mayors
of Libyan villages to fight human trafficking.
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