In a remarkable tale of survival, an 11-year-old girl from Sierra Leone has been rescued after braving the Mediterranean Sea for three days, becoming the sole survivor of a shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa Island.

The girl, who has not been named, was rescued by Germany's CompassCollective, a rescue group that heard her screams for help in the middle of the night. The crew found her floating on a pair of tire tubes, wearing a life jacket, and immediately provided her with medical attention.

According to the girl, she had left Sfax, Tunisia, on a metal boat with 45 people, which sank during a storm. The tragedy has sparked outrage and concern over the thousands of African migrants who make the perilous voyage across the Mediterranean Sea, driven by aspirations of a better life in Europe.

Italy, with its proximity to North Africa, is one of the key entry points into Europe for these migrants. However, this voyage, frequently performed in overcrowded and dangerous vessels, exposes them to tremendous hazards while also highlighting complicated socioeconomic and political challenges.

The Mediterranean migration route between Tunisia, Libya, Italy, and Malta is one of the most perilous in the world, with over 24,300 people missing or killed since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration. The recent incident has prompted calls for authorities to initiate a search operation to rescue any lives, with NGO Mediterranea stating that another three migrant boats went missing on the route between Tunisia and Italy in recent weeks.

"Lives in danger at sea cannot be abandoned," said Mediterranea's Luca Casarini, emphasizing the need for urgent action to address the crisis. The Italian Red Cross and volunteers are currently taking care of the rescued girl at a holding center for migrants.

The incident has also sparked debate over Italy's immigration policies, with the country maintaining that the decrease in boat migration is a result of its stringent measures. Approximately 64,000 migrant arrivals have been reported thus far this year, compared to almost 153,000 at the same time frame in 2023.

In the midst of the festive season, the story of the 11-year-old Sierra Leonean girl serves as a poignant reminder of the human cost of migration and the need for collective action to address the root causes of this crisis.

"In this festive period, in which the majority of us are lucky to be with our loved ones, my thoughts go out to the girl from Sierra Leone," said Nicola Dell'Arciprete, head of U.N. children's agency UNICEF in Italy. "Yet another tragedy that increases the number of dead and missing in the Central Mediterranean."