A wrestler from The Gambia has died trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Italy, his coach has told AFP news agency. Ali Mbengu, 22,...
Ali Mbengu, 22, drowned last Friday when the boat he was travelling in capsized, Pateh Nying said.
News of his death comes less than two weeks after the 19-year-old goalkeeper of Gambia's national women's football team, Fatim Jawara, drowned while trying to cross the Mediterranean.
Mr Nying said the wrestler, also known as "Mille Franc" (Thousand Francs), had left for Libya in 2014.
"His plan was to cross to Italy by boat," Mr Nying is quoted as saying. "One of the survivors called his brother and informed him about the incident. The caller told the brother that only 10 people survived when the boat capsized on the high seas."
Mr Bengu is believed to have made his debut as a wrestler in 2012, AFP reports.
A spokesman for The Gambia Wrestling Federation, Matarr Saine, told AFP that the entire wrestling community was in mourning:
He was one of the most disciplined wrestlers in the country and he was really committed to the sport.
We are discouraging young people, especially wrestlers, from embarking on this risky journey. It is claiming the lives of our sportsmen and women who can contribute positively to national development."
