Categories: Global

Italian Coast Guard Rescues 550 Migrants from Stormy Seas

The Italian Coast Guard on Sunday safely brought to shore more than 550 migrants, many of them young men or boys from Egypt, from storm-tossed waters off the southern “toe” of Italy’s mainland, as human traffickers increasingly use a new route.

One rescue began Saturday night and ended early Sunday when the 303 migrants, soaked and shivering, stepped on to the port of Roccella Jonica in the the Calabria region.

Later Sunday, after an Italian customs police boat spotted spotted another fishing vessel in difficulty off Calabria, coast guard crews ferried 250 migrants to the same port, Associated Press journalists in Roccella Jonica reported.

While most migrants seeking to reach Italy in the central Mediterranean depart from Libya or Tunisia, authorities say an increasing number of traffickers’ boats are plying a route that begins in Turkey and ends at the southern tip of the Italian peninsula.

Those rescued from traffickers’ unseaworthy rubber dinghies and wooden boats that depart from North Africa are usually taken to Lampedusa, a tiny Italian island, or to ports in Sicily. Those sailing from Turkey are generally taken to Calabria or Puglia in the “heel” of the Italian mainland.

The charity Resqship tweeted Sunday that after it alerted authorities about an overcrowded wooden boat with 100 migrants south of Lampedusa, the Italian coast vessel evacuated them to safety.

In Roccella Jonica, Red Cross volunteers early Sunday handed the migrants plastic clogs, blankets, food and protective face masks as part of COVID-19 precautions. Authorities recently set up a tent structure to serve as temporary housing but it’s only for up to 120 people, so some of the migrants were driven to other shelters.

As of Nov. 12, 57,833 migrants had arrived in Italy by sea this year.

In 2020, more than 31,000 arrived. In 2019, when anti-migrant leader Matteo Salvini used his post as interior minister to try to thwart charity boats from disembarking people they rescued at sea, just under 10,000 arrived.

Follow us on:

AriseNews

Recent Posts

German Consulate Hosts Unity Day In Lagos as Diplomatic Ties Bloom

The 34th anniversary of German Unity celebrated in Lagos, was hosted by Consul General Weert…

7 hours ago

Matt Gaetz To Exit Congress Following Withdrawal As DOJ Nominee Amid Controversy

Matt Gaetz has said he will not return to Congress after withdrawing as Trump’s DOJ…

10 hours ago

Tinubu Seeks Senate Approval For Oluyede As Chief Of Army Staff

President Tinubu has sought Senate confirmation of Olufemi Oluyede as Chief of Army Staff, citing…

10 hours ago

Netanyahu Risks Arrest in UK as ICC Issues Warrant Against Him For War Crimes

Israeli PM Netanyahu faces potential arrest in the UK as Downing Street pledges to fulfill…

13 hours ago

Second Australian Teen Dies from Suspected Methanol Poisoning in Laos

A second Australian teenager has died of suspected methanol poisoning in Laos, bringing to six…

13 hours ago

Simon Ekpa Arrested, Denies Being IPOB Leader + Atiku Says Tinubu’s Loans Are Bone-Crushing – Trending With Ojy Okpe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFlFl1mPGC8 The arrest of self-proclaimed Prime minister of the Biafra Republic, Simon Ekpa who was…

13 hours ago