AFPEmployees of the Italian Coast Guard
NOS News•today, 12:26•Changed today, 12:38
Another migrant boat arrived in the port on the Italian island of Lampedusa last night. After a few relatively quiet days, 347 migrants came ashore.
According to authorities, they come from Egypt, Syria, Pakistan and Bangladesh, among others, and the boat left the Libyan coastal city of Zuara. There were two women on board, the other passengers were men. She would have paid up to 8,000 euros for the crossing, reports the German news agency DPA.
The migrant shelter on Lampedusa officially accommodates around 440 people. In July, the number of migrants needing shelter on the island rose to 2,100. In September, 5,000 arrived in one day in more than a hundred boats.
Italian Prime Minister Meloni promised last year during the election campaign, in the run-up to her premiership, to impose a ‘naval blockade’ against migrants. Despite this, a record number of migrants crossed the Mediterranean to Italy. So far this year, more than 140,000 people without regular papers came to Italy by sea. Last year there were 105,000.
Overcrowded boats
Despite the deal with Tunisia, which aims to reduce the number of migrants coming to Europe via North Africa, many people still risk the crossing.
That regularly goes wrong. The boats they use are often unseaworthy or overcrowded. According to a United Nations report, some 25,000 migrants have drowned in the Mediterranean since 2014. The actual death toll is probably higher.
2023-10-26 10:26:00
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