A new tragedy has been avoided in the Mediterranean. More than a thousand migrants were rescued Saturday by the Italian coastguard and navy while they were aboard overcrowded boats. Several vessels were dispatched on Friday to help three boats carrying spotted in the central Mediterranean.
Early Saturday morning, 487 migrants were brought back safely to the port of Crotone according to several media reports. Coast guard videos, released Friday, showed some of them on the deck of a large fishing boat languishing in rough seas. Another ship carrying 584 migrants docked in Reggio Calabria, Ansa news agency reports.
Nearly 18,000 arrivals since January 1
According to the AGI agency, these operations were carried out on the same day as the discovery of the body of a girl, the 74th victim of the deadly shipwreck that occurred ten days ago off Crotone. The judiciary has opened an investigation into the tragedy, in particular to try to explain the arrival of help too late.
The shipwreck shocked Italy and sparked sharp criticism of the far-right government of Giorgia Meloni, elected on an anti-migrant line. At the end of a Council of Ministers relocated Thursday in southern Italy, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reaffirmed her government's determination to fight against illegal immigration and smugglers.
Since taking office in October 2022, the executive has multiplied the obstacles to humanitarian operations in the Mediterranean, starting a showdown with its European partners to obtain from them more solidarity in the reception of migrants. According to the Ministry of the Interior, 17,592 people have landed since January 1 in Italy, compared to 5,976 over the same period in 2022 and 5,995 in 2021.
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