Children suffer third degree burns after fuel leaks on migrant boats trying to reach Europe
msn.comtrying to reach Europe, humanitarian doctors have warned. Medics on board the Ocean Viking, a search and rescue ship patrolling the central Mediterranean to which i has been given access, warned that women and children were most at risk of fuel burns, which can leave lifelong scars. “The most serious thing we see from the journey is fuel burns, where the fuel canisters spill and it mixes with the salt water, and becomes really harsh on the skin,” said medical team leader Catherine Flanigan, who has worked in the field since 2018. “Sometimes they’re quite mild but sometimes you get really severe second and third degree burns which need quite a lot of treatment on board. “It particularly happens to the women and the children because it tends to gather in the bottom of the boat.
The women and children are often there because its seen as a safer place, but in terms of the fuel it is actually the most dangerous, and they come with these really large and painful burns. ”The majority of small boats leave the coast of Libya bound for Malta or Italy, are organised by people smugglers and carry up to 1,000 people.
Some people rescued by the Ocean Viking have been at sea for up to three days. But the burns can continue to spread and deepen even after showering and changing clothes post-rescue, leaving potentially lifelong scarring.
One seven-year-old boy suffered severe burns to his legs after sitting on his mother’s lap during the journey from Libya. The Ocean Viking is a search and rescue ship which patrols the central Mediterranean looking for migrant boats in distress.
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