620 migrants arrive on 13 boats in overnight landings on Lampedusa

There are 620 migrants who have landed on Lampedusa starting at midnight, after the patrol boats from the Coast Guard, the finance police, and Frontex have rescued 13 boats. Yesterday, there were 11 landings on the island, 4 of which occurred just before midnight, with 408 people. Currently, there are 1,087 migrants at the hotspot in Contrada Imbriacola. Last night, on the orders of the Agrigento Prefecture, 380 were embarked on the ferry that has just arrived at Porto Empedocle.

The 620 migrants who landed in Lampedusa during the night departed from Sfax in Tunisia and from Sabratha and Zuara in Libya. The groups from Tunisia consisted of a minimum of 38 to a maximum of 52 people from Gambia, Ivory Coast, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal who reported paying mostly a thousand Tunisian dinars for the crossing on small iron boats that struggle to stay afloat. Only a few, the very few who travelled with GPS and apps, paid 1,500. The groups from Libya were composed of 15 to 119 Bengalis, Egyptians, Moroccans, Pakistanis, and Syrians embarked on fiberglass or wooden boats, some up to 12 meters long. For this journey, they paid from a thousand to 5,000 dollars and navigated towards Lampedusa using GPS and a compass.

Fifteen found on the islet of Lampione

Fifteen migrants, including 2 minors, were found by the Swedish Frontex crew on the islet of Lampione. The Tunisians were spotted on two 3-meter dinghies: only one with an engine, effectively towing the second dinghy. The boats were seized by the finance police of Lampedusa, and the 15 were taken to the largest of the Pelagie Islands. They claim to have left from Tabulba in Tunisia after paying 8,000 dinars for the trip, which was done without mobile phone applications or a compass.

The mayor of Lampedusa: the government should not be unprepared

“After a truce that lasted for several months, the arrivals have resumed, however, with manageable numbers that we can handle optimally. Compared to the previous year from January 1st until today, we have had 50% fewer arrivals, which certainly represents a reversal of the trend. The key word remains the same: the government must not be caught unprepared in managing migrants in Lampedusa, and the only way to prevent the reception system from going haywire is to have, as it is happening, rapid transfers off the island. But dedicated ships are needed.”

This was stated by the mayor of Lampedusa and Linosa, Filippo Mannino, after the flurry of landings: 13 during the night and 11 yesterday. “In these hours, I will write again to Rome regarding the issue of sunken or abandoned boats on the coasts because it has become a problem that can no longer be postponed, both for the territory’s decorum and for the damage caused to fishermen. I will also request an intervention from the Ministers of Environment and Agriculture,” Mannino added, expressing concern and sorrow for the shipwreck that occurred during the night. “Once again, an innocent person has lost their life. Once again. And this is truly unbearable.”