A Ghanaian migrant has shared chilling details of being lost at sea for 6 days while attempting to travel from Libya to Italy illegally.

According to him, their mode of transport was a boat on the Mediterranean Sea carrying over a hundred other migrants. He stated that the person in charge of handling the compass was inexperienced and misread it.

“We also got lost because the person handling the compass was taught how to operate it in 2 days with no prior experience.”

They ended up on the shores of Malta instead of their intended destination, Italy.

“Instead of heading north, we ended up heading south where we entered the territories of Malta. There was a point we got to where we had to raise our legs to avoid being attacked by some dangerous fishes in the sea,” he said.

He further revealed to Kofi TV in an interview that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rescue teams that patrol the seas were unavailable.

“When you set off from the shores of Libya, you are supposed to see the rescue team within 4 hours and be taken to Lampedusa but due to the COVID 19 pandemic, all the rescue teams and sea watch teams were unavailable.”

The boat, he said, carried people from different backgrounds and African countries, including pregnant women from Sudan and all wasn’t peaceful.

“We departed from the shores of Libya in three different batches, all of us in 3 boats. In the boat which I was stationed, there were three pregnant women, four other women with kids as young as 2 years old. We were given water for drinking and some fruits, but the Sudanese, out of anger, threw them away just because we didn’t give it to them when it was their turn.

“So by day two of our journey, we had no food and water left. At a point, our boat burst causing the release of the premix fuel into the water. Due to how hot the premix fuel is, our feet got burned with some having their legs completely damaged due to the severity of the burns.”

According to him, the thought of losing their lives in the desert and at sea didn’t deter them from embarking on the journey.

Detailing how he ended up returning to Ghana, he said the Ghanaian consulate in Malta facilitated their repatriation after being kept in a refugee camp for months.

Watch the full interview below:



MAG/ ADG