Dozens missing in migrant boat sinking off Lampedusa

A migrant boat sank Thursday off the small Italian island of Lampedusa, leaving about forty missing. This was indicated Friday by the spokeswoman of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Italy, Chiara Cardoletti.

Migrants in the Mediterranean on 20 September 2021 (Image illustration). © Ahmed Hatem / AP

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Among the missing is at least one newborn baby, Chiara Cardoletti wrote in a tweet. The iron boat, which left Sfax in Tunisia, was carrying 46 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa – Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Cameroon – said Flavio Di Giacomo, spokesman for the International Organization for Migration (IMO).

Naufragio al largo di #Lampedusa: 40 persone disperse, tra cui almeno 1 neonato. E' inaccettabile continuare a contare i morti alle porte d'Europa, un meccanismo di soccorso in mare coordinato e condiviso tra stati e' ormai una questione anche di coscienza.

— Chiara Cardoletti (@chiaraUNHCR) June 23, 2023

The boat, faced with bad weather conditions, strong wind and big waves, capsized. "Some survivors were brought to Lampedusa and others brought back to Tunisia," Di Giacomo said. "Among the missing are seven women and a minor. The survivors are all adult men," he added.

Read alsoInternational report - Italy: Lampedusa, land of arrival of exiles singled out by the far right

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Since November, we have seen more arrivals of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa than Tunisians. By the Tunisian road, "safer than the Libyan road because it is shorter," he observed. According to him, this phenomenon is due to "the strong discrimination that migrants from sub-Saharan Africa suffer in Tunisia, which they therefore flee".

 « Some shipwrecks are not known »

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It is unacceptable to continue counting the dead at Europe's doorstep " denounced Chiara Cardoletti, referring to the deadly shipwrecks of migrant boats that have already occurred in Italy, Greece and Spain.

The spokesman also stressed the fragility of the iron boats, poorly welded, arriving from Tunisia and sinking at the first damage. "We are therefore not aware of some shipwrecks," he lamented, calling for "patrols of European ships to monitor the Tunisian route, as well as the Libyan route, otherwise we will witness a disaster this summer".

A view shared by the spokesperson of the UNHCR in Italy. "A coordinated and shared rescue mechanism at sea between states is now also a matter of conscience," she said. Located about 145 km off the Tunisian coast, Lampedusa is one of the main entry points for migrants crossing the Mediterranean. Last year, more than 46,000 people disembarked there, out of a total of 105,000 arrivals in Italy, according to UNHCR.

" READ ALSO Migrants: a first quarter of 2023 particularly deadly in the Mediterranean

(

With AFP)

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• Italy
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