Miracle at Sea: The Sole Survivor of a Mediterranean Tragedy

An 11-year-old girl from Sierra Leone was found surviving a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea, rescued by a German sailboat. She's the lone survivor from a vessel that set off with 45 others from Tunisia. Her story highlights the perilous journeys migrants face en route to Europe.

An 11-year-old girl from Sierra Leone emerged as the sole survivor of a tragic shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea. As reported by a humanitarian group on Thursday, she was discovered floating near Italy's Lampedusa Island, having departed from Tunisia's port of Sfax.

The stranded child was rescued by the German-flagged sailboat Trotamar III, brought to safety in Lampedusa on Wednesday. Operated by the German charity Compass Collective since August 2023, the crew found her suffering from hypothermia, without food and water.

She told rescuers she had floated for three days, using innertubes and a lifejacket, after leaving Tunisia with about 45 people. It's assumed that most perished in unforgiving seas, with the UN reporting 1,536 migrant deaths or disappearances this year alone.

(With inputs from agencies.)