Record number of migrants in Lampedusa: 2,000 in 24 hours

There are currently 1,831 people in the refugee camp on the island. More than 20,000 migrants have already been registered on a boat since the beginning of January.

With more than 2,000 migrants arriving in 24 hours, a new record of migrant landings has been set on the island of Lampedusa. On Saturday night, 267 people arrived on the island after six of the seven boats they were traveling in were brought to safety by the NGO ship “Louise Michel” and patrol boats from the Italian Coast Guard. On Friday, 43 boat landings involving 1,778 people were recorded in Lampedusa.

Officials said the refugee camp on the island currently houses 1,831 people. In Italy, the arrival of thousands of migrants, who make their way from Africa across the Mediterranean to Italy in mostly unseaworthy boats, has been discussed for several weeks. According to official figures, the country has already registered more than 20,000 migrants on boats since the beginning of January – in the previous two years there were about 6,000 migrants at this time.

Time and time again, there are devastating boat accidents in attempts to cross the Mediterranean into Europe. At the end of February, a ship sank off the coast of Calabria, killing at least 90 people. The right-wing Italian government around Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the coast guard has since come under fire – the accusation being that not everything possible was done to save them.

(APA)