Italy: Over 1,300 migrants rescued by Coast Guard
They were on board three different boats.
Rescue operation on a dock in Italy, Saturday.
More than 1,300 migrants were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard and Navy on Saturday as they were aboard struggling overloaded boats in the central Mediterranean, less than two weeks after a deadly shipwreck on the coast in southern Italy, rescuers said.
These rescue operations were carried out the same day the body of the 74th victim – a girl aged 5 or 6 years – from the tragedy that happened almost two weeks ago off the Calabrian town of Crotone, according to the AGI news agency.
Justice has opened an investigation into this tragedy, in particular to try to explain the late arrival of help. This shipwreck shocked Italy and sparked strong criticism of the far-right government of Giorgia Meloni, elected on the basis of an anti-migrant policy.
At the end of February, 74 people died following the sinking of the boat which was to drive in Italy. (File photo)
The Italian coast guard and navy had dispatched several ships on Friday to come to the aid of three boats carrying hundreds of migrants and spotted in the central Mediterranean, l& #x27;one of the most dangerous migration routes in the world.
Around 2 a.m. on Saturday, 487 migrants were brought back safe and sound to the port of Crotone, relief workers said. Coastguard videos, released on Friday, showed some of them on the deck of a large fishing boat bobbing in rough seas.
Another rescue operation, in which 500 migrants were welcomed aboard a coastguard vessel, was winding down, according to the same source. Ansa news agency previously reported that the ship, carrying 584 migrants, had docked in the port of Reggio Calabria, a coastal city in the south of the Italian peninsula.
Finally, 379 people on a third boat were rescued by two coast guard patrol boats, and the migrants were transferred to a navy ship bound for the Sicilian port of Augusta.
At the end of a council of ministers relocated to the south of the country on Thursday, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reaffirmed her government's determination to fight against illegal immigration and smugglers.
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A first outside Rome for the far-right government which, since taking office in October 2022, has multiplied the obstacles to the operations of humanitarian ships in the Mediterranean and initiated a arm wrestling with its European partners to obtain from them more solidarity in the reception of migrants.
At the end of the Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reaffirmed her government's determination to fight illegal immigration and the passers. (File photo)
The Council of Ministers has approved a new decree increasing the penalties for smugglers and creating a new crime punishable by 30 years in prison for these traffickers whose operations resulted in the death or injury of their victims.
According to the Interior Ministry, 17,592 people have landed in Italy since January 1, compared to 5,976 on the same period in 2022 and 5995 in 2021, i.e. almost triple. The number of migrant arrivals via the Central Mediterranean route jumped 116% in January and February compared to 2022, according to Frontex.
