More than a thousand migrants arrive in Italy within a few hours
More than a thousand migrants have arrived in Italy in the last hours, and hundreds more are waiting on Saturday, July 23, on humanitarian relief ships. A merchant and coast guard ship off Calabria, in the far south of La Pute, rescued more than 600 people trying to cross the Mediterranean on a fishing boat on Saturday. They were landed at several ports in Sicily. The authorities also found five bodies of migrants on board, in unspecified circumstances so far.
On the island of Lampedusa, 522 people, from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia in particular, arrived on the night of Saturday 23 July to Sunday 24 July on board fifteen different boats, from Tunisia and Libya. According to Italian media, the reception center of this small rock closer to Africa than to Italy is overcrowded. With a capacity of 300, ANSA says it currently has 1,200 people.
daily Sicily It is reported that the recent landings in Lampedusa saw ships carrying dozens, even hundreds of people, as well as small inflatables. Thus, four Tunisians, including a woman, are stranded at night on the beach of Cala Pisana after crossing the small arm of the sea that separates Tunisia from the island. At the same time, the Coast Guard intercepted a 13-meter-long ship, which left Zweiga in Libya, with 123 Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Egyptians and Sudanese on board.
34,000 people have arrived in Italy since the beginning of the year
In addition, NGOs involved in saving the sea continue to retrieve hundreds of migrants who went missing in the Mediterranean. Sea-Watch announced Sunday that it carried out four rescues on Saturday. “On-board C Watch 3, We have 428 people, including women and children, and a woman who is nine months pregnant and has severe burns.”on her Twitter account. TheOcean Vikingof the NGO SOS Méditerranée, is said to have picked up 87 people, including 57 unaccompanied minors, accumulating them “Overloaded rubber boat in distress in international waters off Libya”.
between 1Verse On January 22 and July, 34,000 people arrived by sea in Italy, compared to 25,500 in the same period in 2021 and 10,900 in 2020, according to the Interior Ministry. The migration route in the central Mediterranean is the most dangerous in the world. The International Organization for Migration estimates the number of dead and missing there at 990 since the beginning of the year.
This seasonal increase in summer arrivals in Italy coincides with a turbulent political context. Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who was overthrown by several parties that made up the national unity government, resigned. The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, dissolved Parliament and set the date for the September 25 elections favored by the right and the far right. Sunday morning on Twitter Matteo Salvini, leader of the (Anti-Immigration) League, denounced the arrival “411 illegal immigrants in a few hours in Lampedusa”. “On September 25, Italians will finally be able to choose a change: for the return of security, courage and border control”he wrote.