A thousand migrants were rescued by the Italian coast guard
Authorities helped dozens of people on overloaded boats this Saturday after a deadly shipwreck two weeks ago.
The central Mediterranean is the world’s most dangerous migration route (photo caption).
AFP/BEN STANSALL
More than a thousand migrants were rescued by the Italian coastguard and navy on Saturday from overloaded boats in the central Mediterranean, less than two weeks after a deadly shipwreck off Italy’s southern coast, media reported.
The rescue operations were carried out on the same day that the body of the 74th victim – a five- to six-year-old girl – was found almost two weeks ago in a fatal shipwreck off Crotone on the country’s southern coast, the AGI news agency reported.
Justice has launched an inquiry into the tragedy, particularly trying to explain why relief came so late. The shipwreck shocked Italy and sparked fierce criticism of the far-right government of Giorgia Meloni, elected on anti-immigrant lines.
The coast guard and Italian navy on Friday sent several ships to the aid of three boats carrying hundreds of migrants spotted in the central Mediterranean, the world’s most dangerous migrant route.
“The rescue (…) is very complicated due to the large number of people in the driftboats,” the coast guard explained on Friday.
By early Saturday morning, 487 migrants had been brought safely to the port of Crotone, several media reported. Coast Guard videos released Friday showed some of them floundering in rough seas on the deck of a large fishing boat.
On Saturday morning, an Italian coast guard ship carrying 584 migrants docked in the Italian coastal city of Reggio Calabria, Ansa news agency reported.
Illegal immigration
No word on the recovery of the third boat was available Saturday afternoon.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reaffirmed her government’s commitment to fighting illegal immigration and smugglers after a delegation of displaced ministers in southern Italy on Thursday.
It is the first time outside Rome for the far-right majority executive since taking office in October 2022, which has escalated disruptions to the operations of humanitarian ships in the Mediterranean and clashed with its European partners for support. More unity in welcoming them is immigrants.
The Council of Ministers has approved a new decree that increases the penalties for traffickers and creates a new crime punishable by up to thirty years in prison for traffickers who cause the death or injury of their victims.
According to the Interior Ministry, 17,592 people have landed in Italy since January 1, compared to 5,976 in the same period in 2022 and 5,995 in 2021, almost three times as many. According to Frontex, the number of migrants crossing the central Mediterranean rose by 116% in January and February compared to 2022.
AFP
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