On 11 October 2013, a few days after the terrible shipwreck that took place on 3 October 2013 in front of the island of Lampedusa, a Syrian doctor aboard a boat that left Libya together with a large number of people (an estimated number between 250 and 400, including many children) called the Italian maritime rescue coordination center (IMRCC) 6 times in the space of 5 hours, describing in detail the very serious situation in which the boat was, reporting engine failures, the presence of injured people on board and many minors and clearly describing the emergency deriving from the fact that the ship was taking on water.

268 Syrians fleeing the war have drowned, including 60 children.