Migrants reunited with wedding rings lost in Mediterranean after surviving shipwreck

Rings belonging to Algerian couple Ahmed and Doudou that was found in the Mediterranean

Credit: Open Arms

Two migrants who survived a shipwreck in the mediterranean have been reunited with their wedding rings after they were lost at sea.

Newlyweds Ahmed, 25, and Doudou, 20, were among 15 people rescued when their boat sank on its journey from Libya to Italy. Five people, including a two-year-old girl, did not survive.

A migrant rescue boat found the remains of the shipwreck with a red backpack floating alongside on November 9.

The bag was damaged and soaked with petrol — but inside were the two rings, engraved with the couple’s names.

Photos of the bag’s contents were shared on social media by the NGO Open Arms and in the newspaper La Repubblica.

Photos of the contents of the rucksack were shared on social media

Thanks to the images, charity workers were able to trackdown the Algerian couple weeks later at a reception centre in Sicily.

“As soon as they showed us the photos of the rings, I couldn’t believe it,” Ahmed said in a message passed on by MSF to the Guardian. ‘‘We had lost everything and now the few things we set out with on the journey have been found. It’s incredible.”

According to Ahmed and Doudou their small wooden boat sank 48-hours into its journey on October 19. It had been left to float after its petrol ran out, leaving 20 passengers stranded in deteriorating weather conditions.

Survivors say the boat was then hit by a large wave around 40 miles from the island of Lampedusa, a popular landing zone for migrants. Five passengers died, including the mother of a nine year old boy who is now alone in Italy.

Doudou is said to be traumatised by the crossing. “She saw five travel companions die in front of her eyes, including a child,” Ester Russo, a psychologist at Médecins Sans Frontières, told the Guardian.