The Italian coast guard said on Monday that it had dispatched rescue operations to two overcrowded boats, carrying a total of about 1,200 migrants, in the Mediterranean Sea, limited to a few busy days. busy for the service and raised concerns about the number of people trying to perilously cross from Africa to Europe.
As of Friday, Italian authorities said they had rescued about 2,000 people from boats in distress – not counting the two operations announced on Monday – as rough seas made the journey particularly perilous.
Organizations that monitor such crossings have raised concerns about the large numbers of migrants fleeing war and poverty risking their journey across the Mediterranean. Calls have increased to the whole of Europe to find a way to deal more closely with the arrivals and devote more resources to the problem.
With different countries enacting a patchwork of responses, migrant rights advocates say lives are at stake.
“The situation is completely chaotic,” said Felix Weiss, a spokesman for International Sea-Watch, a German organization that operates lifeboats in the central Mediterranean. The number of tourists by sea has increased sharply in recent months, he added.
Italian rescue operations come on their own in the midst of a fierce debate in Italy about how to handle arrivals. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has promised a “naval blockade” of migrant boats and has attempted to force migrant boats to return to an Italian port after each mission. services, limiting the number of migrants they can help.
In a statement on Monday, the Italian Coast Guard said rescue ships intercepted a fishing boat carrying about 800 people about 120 miles southeast of Syracuse, a city in Sicily. The Coast Guard called the rescue a complicated effort because of the sheer number of people on board.
Authorities added that a ship had also been sent to help another boat, carrying about 400 people, that was struggling about 170 miles southeast of the coast of Calabria, southern Italy. That boat, which left the Libyan port city of Tobruk about six days ago, first sent out an emergency call next Sunday. alarm phonean organization that works to ensure migrants in danger are rescued.
The boat was reported to have run out of fuel and let the water leave those on board trying to rescue. The captain left under unknown circumstances, Alarm Phone said, meaning no one was at the helm of the ship.
Sea-Watch International said a merchant ship had arrived to provide fuel and water for the boat. But the Maltese authorities, Sea-Watch said, had instructed merchant ships to deliver supplies but did not proceed with the rescue.
Sea-Watch’s Mr Weiss pointed out that it took more than 24 hours after the emergency call from the Italian Coast Guard to send rescuers, and he noted that the weather conditions, with waves as high as 5 feet, and the panic of those on the overcrowded ship made that operation “really, really difficult.” As of Monday night, 400 people on board were still waiting to be taken off the boat, according to Alarm Phone.
The actions of the Maltese authorities appear to be another sign of Europe’s fragmented response.
Maurice Stierl, a representative of Alarm Phone, said: “Malta hasn’t actually made any rescues, adding that the country’s failure to rescue the migrant boats means that many people start off. Travelers from the African coast had to get closer to Italy before they could. look forward to welcoming you.
“That means these journeys get really long and really dangerous,” he said.
The Maltese naval authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Based on United Nationsalmost 28,000 people have arrived in Italy by sea since the beginning of this year.
In March, the Italian Coast Guard carried out two large-scale missions to rescue more than 1,000 migrants from several boats hundreds of miles off the coast of Calabria. Last week, a ship of Doctors Without Borders was saved 440 migrants on a fishing boat off the coast of Malta after 11 hours of operation in stormy conditions.
But shipwreck deaths during such crossings occur with alarming frequency. On Saturday, at least 23 migrants were missing and four others were killed when two boats capsized off the coast of Tunisia. according to the official from that country. In February, a shipwreck off the coast of Calabria killed at least 63 people, including many children. Survivors said the boat sailed from Izmir, western Türkiye.
