Despite several recent devastating boating accidents, many migrants continue to dare to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Italy. Over the past two days, more than 3,000 people have arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa alone, Italian news agency Ansa reported on Sunday. A total of 1387 people arrived on the small island on Saturday. On Friday, there were as many as 1778 people.
The migrants, many of them children, arrived in Lampedusa on several boats. The maritime rescue ship “Louise Michel” and patrol boats of the Italian authorities came to rescue some boats. Other arrivals are also expected on Sunday.
37 killed in two accidents
Eight people died on Saturday crossing the Mediterranean Sea to the EU. Two small boats were in danger near Malta – the eight recovered bodies were brought to Lampedusa by the Italian coastguard on Sunday night, as reported by ANSA.
The mayor of Lampedusa, Filippo Minnino, for his part, called for a joint European mission in the Mediterranean. “Europe and Italy must realize that there is a state of emergency in the Mediterranean. Women, children and men continue to die,” said the politician, according to Ansa.
Lampedusa is located between Sicily and North Africa, the island is almost 190 kilometers from the Tunisian coastal town of Sfax. Many people continue to try to reach Lampedusa, Malta, Sicily or the Italian mainland by boat from Tunisia and Libya across the central Mediterranean.
Boat accident off the coast of Tunisia
Another boat accident off the coast of Tunisia killed 29 people. The boat with dozens of migrants on board sank on Friday, a representative of the Sfax city court said. Boats have also suffered accidents in recent days. The Tunisian Coast Guard recovered seven bodies, including four children and a baby.
Many migrants attempt the life-threatening crossing from Tunisia to Europe on boats that are often unseaworthy. It is considered a transit country for migrants from countries south of the Sahara. But there are also Tunisians among the many who dare to cross into Italy. Many have wanted to leave Tunisia since President Kais Saied called for a tougher crackdown on migrants in February.
The arrival of thousands of migrants has been discussed in Italy for some time. The media is already talking about a “migration boom” or “exodus from Tunisia”. This sometimes leads to devastating boat accidents, as in late February off the coast of Calabria, with dozens of deaths. According to official data, Italy has already registered more than 21,000 migrants by boat since the beginning of January – in the two previous years there were around 6,000 at this time.
According to the French aid organization SOS Méditerranée, the rescue ship “Ocean Viking” was again threatened by the Libyan coast guard off the coast of Libya. The crew of a patrol boat threatened with firearms and fired shots into the air. The coastguard picked up about 80 people from a boat in distress and brought them to Libya. A similar incident had already occurred in January.