Three African migrants taken into care in Germany presented with severe lung injuries related to the forced ingestion of fuel.
They are Syrians, Afghans, Iraqis or Eritreans. All are fleeing countries at war or totalitarian regimes. Since the start of 2016, nearly 340,000 people have risked their lives to reach Europe, and 4,270 have perished in the Mediterranean Sea.
Hundreds of deaths who do not seem to hold back the men, women and children who wait in Libya or Egypt and who embark every day in makeshift canoes. A perilous crossing to which is added the mistreatment of the smugglers.
Besides the executions for the example and forcing the refugees to board the boats, they force them to drink a mixture of gasoline to sedate them, say German doctors in a scientific article published in The Lancet. A disturbing discovery because the damage caused by the ingestion of fuel can lead to death.
Similar to pneumonia
These practitioners saw 3 young Africans arrive in their services (a 16-year-old Somali, an 18-year-old Ethiopian and a 21-year-old Eritrean) suffering from serious lung problems. They also had fever and shortness of breath. Symptoms appeared weeks after their crossing of the Mediterranean and which suggest pneumonia of bacterial origin. Lung lesions are confirmed by scans.
However, bacteriological tests do not show any infection. Their condition quickly worsened, and hospitalization in intensive care was essential. Despite the treatment, the young Ethiopian died.
With the help of translators, doctors were able to interview the two survivors. They both say they must have been drinking gasoline on the boat. For the doctors, the 3 men developed a pneumonia by ingestion of hydrocarbons. This is the first time that medical teams taking care of refugees have reported this mistreatment and this pathology. With this communication, German doctors hope that their colleagues will think about this disease after ruling out pneumonia.
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