Six individuals died and 40 are lacking after a migrant shipwreck within the Mediterranean, the United Nations stated Wednesday, as Italian authorities looked for survivors off the island of Lampedusa.
“Nonetheless too many useless in a brand new shipwreck within the Mediterranean,” Chiara Cardoletti, the Italy consultant of the UN refugee company UNHCR, stated on X.
An inflatable dinghy carrying 56 individuals left the Tunisian port of Sfax on Monday earlier than stepping into hassle, she stated.
“After just a few hours of crusing, the dinghy started to deflate and tackle water. Six our bodies recovered. 40 lacking,” she wrote.
Italy’s coastguard stated it pulled 10 individuals to security and was scouring the realm for survivors.
“As a result of notably opposed climate and sea situations, the search operations are being carried out with the assist of assorted plane… which can take turns in overflying the realm,” the coastguard stated in an announcement.
These included plane belonging to Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Company, it stated.
The dinghy was reportedly discovered partially deflated off the tiny rocky outcrop of Lampione, to the west of Lampedusa, which lies nearer to North Africa than Europe.
The search and rescue centres in Malta and Tunisia have each been alerted as a part of efforts to get well the lacking, the coastguard stated.
These rescued — six males and 4 girls — stated there had been 56 individuals on board from the Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea and Cameroon, a UNHCR spokesperson instructed AFP.
Survivors, who’re receiving psychological assist, stated a number of the lacking had fallen overboard in tough seas, in line with the AGI information company.
After the migrants had been rescued, a separate group of 40 migrants landed on Lampedusa after travelling from Sfax in steel boats, the ANSA information company stated.
There have been 5 landings in Lampedusa on Tuesday with a complete of 213 migrants, bringing the variety of individuals on the island’s reception centre to 230, it stated.
Round 8,743 migrants have arrived in Italy to date this yr, barely greater than in the identical interval final yr, in line with Italy’s inside ministry.
Save the Youngsters stated that quantity contains “nearly a thousand unaccompanied minors”.
Far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has adopted a tricky stance on migrants, vowing to cease arrivals, that are down sharply on 2023 figures.
The nation is the primary port of name for many individuals who make the perilous journey on small boats from North Africa to Europe.
In response to the Worldwide Group for Migration, 140 individuals have died or gone lacking whereas trying the central Mediterranean crossing to date this yr.
Meloni’s flagship plan is to outsource migrant processing to Albania — a non-EU nation — and velocity up repatriations of failed asylum seekers.
However the scheme, intently watched by Europe, has run into a number of authorized hurdles and the purpose-built centres in Albania at present stand empty.
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