Rome, Jul 15 (EFE).- The arrivals of barges with hundreds of migrants to the Italian coasts continue incessantly and in the reception center on the island of Lampedusa once again see more than 2,000 people waiting to be transferred to other Italian towns to decongest the reception center that has a capacity for only 400.
During the night, 316 migrants arrived, after being located aboard eight small boats, on the small island, considered the gateway to Europe for migrants departing from the North African coast, and during the day more people have continued to arrive after being rescued by the Finance Guard and Coast Guard.
The rescued, mainly Ivorians, Malaysians, Nigerians and Gambians, informed the Italian authorities that they had set sail from Sfax, in Tunisia, and were taken to the Lampedusa reception center, where there are currently 2,082 people.
Despite continuous transfers to other locations, the center, with a capacity for 400 people and recently managed by the Red Cross, has not been able to empty.
Today the transfer of another 741 migrants is planned on the Galaxy passenger ferry to the town of Porto Empedocle, in Sicily.
The ship “Aurora” of the NGO Sea-Watch located eleven barges in distress this Friday with some 485 people on board, but due to the small size of the vessel, it was able, according to the Coast Guard, to transship 52 migrants, while the rest were taken care of by the Italian authorities.
“The situation was further complicated by the onset of darkness. After receiving instructions from the Coast Guard, the crew embarked 52 people from two boats in serious distress, including 19 women and 19 minors, 14 of whom were alone and one one-month-old baby,” explained the NGO
“While the Coast Guard patrol boats were heading to Lampedusa, Aurora was assigned the port of Trapani, 15 hours away by sea. A port that is too far away for our structure but that we will try to reach without endangering the health of the rescued people,” they added.
On the other hand, the “Geo Barents”, the rescue ship of Doctors Without Borders, also rescued 41 people in the central Mediterranean area, including 5 women and 27 minors, of whom 26 are unaccompanied.
Also the ship “Humanity” of the German NGO United 4 Rescue disembarked today in Ancona (centre) with 199 people on board.
The President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, will return to Tunis tomorrow as part of the dialogue for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with President Kais Saied and which contains an important point about immigration. EFE
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