31 dead on doomed voyage to Italy

The Local (Italy) ^ | July 28, 2013

[ConservativeStatement]

Thirty-one migrants, including nine women, drowned off the coast of Libya during an attempted crossing to Italy on a dinghy according to survivors who managed to complete the journey.

A dinghy carrying 53 migrants capsized on Friday evening, and witnesses said 31 of those who had been thrown off it drowned in the accident.

The twenty-two survivors, who come from Nigeria, Gambia, Benin and Senegal, said the dinghy had capsized after three days at sea. They were rescued by a passing merchant ship and taken to Lampedusa island, the reports said.

[ConservativeStatement]

"Thirty-one migrants, including nine women..."

That is some quality reporting. I wonder how many were males?

[Ditter]

53 people in a dinghy? We must have different ideas of a dinghy.

[Standing Wolf]

Why would anyone want to leave Libya? Isn’t it practically paradise on earth after the Arab spring Muslims and leftist extremists have been gibbering about all this while?

[ConservativeStatement]

In a restaurant after the 2011 Egypt uprising, two older ladies chatting, one said “The only way America is going to progress is to see what is happening in Egypt with these young people taking over.” I laughed then, more so now.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks ConservativeStatement.

A dinghy carrying 53 migrants capsized...

[RegulatorCountry]

They have trouble with descriptions of watercraft over there, apparently. I saw an article a few weeks ago describing how a man was lost at sea when he fell off his sloop. It was a 21 foot daysailer, barely large enough for a cuddy cabin.

[Ditter]

To me a dinghy is a 10 foot rowboat.

[al baby]

Some of us have very large dinghys

[Cowboy Bob]

What’s a “migrant?” Is that Euro-speak for illegal aliens?

[Ditter]

hmmmmmm...... I'm trying to visualize your larger than 10’ dinghy, do you have oars?

[Trailerpark Badass]

I think in this case it's more like war refugees fleeing the imposition of fundamentalist Islam.

Can't say I blame them.

[ConservativeStatement]

Doing the work natives won’t do? /sarc.

[Venturer]

Yeah the reporting here is pretty bad. A Dinghy to me is between, 6 and 14 feet long.

[al baby]

No then had have a pram or a pimp

[BerryDingle]

I always thought she was "dinghy".

[Andy'smom]

Yes, it is. Italy has a large illegal problem from Northern Africa.

[Moltke]

Yes it is. And the new pope just went down to Lampedusa to cook dinner for these people and to encourage them. Meh.

[mware]

That is an area of the Mediterranean you do not want to play around with.

My parish priest who is from Malta has told us on numerous occasions how the sea takes many live in that region.

Seems where the two seas come together they create really wicked storms.

I'm sure St Paul would attest to that were he still living.

[editor-surveyor]

Sloop denotes a type of triangular rigging, not the size of the craft, nor whether or not it may have a cabin.

[editor-surveyor]

Paul’s shipwreck was at the opposite end.