North African migrants, adrift, tell of last-minute rescue
ABC News
Close to 45,000 migrants reached Italy’s shores so far this year, roughly five times more than in 2019
ABOARD GEO BARENTS -- The small fiberglass boat had begun to take on water not long after the engine stopped working. Its six passengers started bailing it out, not knowing how long they could keep the sea at bay.
Waleed, a Tunisian man who, along with five others, was hoping to cross the Mediterranean for a better life in Europe, estimates they removed water from the boat for roughly five hours.
“We were so desperate,” he said.
Then, at first daylight on Sept. 20, the crew of a rescue vessel spotted them through binoculars. They saw Waleed and the others waving and directing a laser light at them.
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