Two children have died when their rubber dinghy crossing to Italy broke down and floated adrift for days on the Mediterranean.
The infants aged three and four, died “probably of thirst” a German sea rescue charity said on Sunday, adding that it had rescued 59 survivors from the stranded vessel.
The refugees and migrants were located on a rubber boat south of the Italian island of Lampedusa that had been spotted by a surveillance aircraft of the EU border agency Frontex.
"By the time [we] reached the rubber boat at around 4.30pm, it was too late to help some of the people," the RESQSHIP charity said in a statement.
"Two bodies of infants aged three and four were handed over to us," the charity quoted one of its paramedics identified only as Rania as saying. "They had died the day before, probably of thirst."
A man was found unconscious and declared dead after attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful, RESQSHIP said, adding that it was told by survivors that another migrant had drowned on Friday after going overboard.
On board were 62 people, including 17 women, two babies and four small children. The rubber boat had left Zawiyah in Libya three days earlier.
With the engine having failed two days the people onboard were exposed to wind and weather.
“Many had extensive burns from the toxic mixture of salt water and fuel”, reports Hannah, a doctor on board the NADIR.
“Women were particularly affected because they were sitting inside the zodiac where the liquid accumulates.”
Two children and four adults in critical condition were handed over to the Italian coast guard to be brought ashore more quickly.
Lampedusa lies between Tunisia, Malta and the larger Italian island of Sicily and is the first port of call for many refugees and migrants seeking to reach the EU from North Africa, in what has become one of the world's deadliest sea crossings.
Almost 25,000 migrants have died or gone missing on this central Mediterranean route since 2014, according to the International Organisation for Migration, including around 1,700 last year and 378 so far this year.
