Italy is a well-liked crossing for migrants in search of to enter EU. (File)
Rome:
Greater than 1,000 migrants have been introduced ashore to southern Italy on Saturday after coastguards launched main rescue operations for 3 boats struggling in tough seas off Calabria.
One coastguard vessel introduced 584 individuals to the town of Reggio Calabria, whereas one other escorted a packed fishing boat carrying 487 migrants into the port of Crotone, near the scene of a Feb. 26 shipwreck that killed at the very least 74 individuals.
Native officers mentioned an extra 200 migrants had been picked up off the coast of Sicily and could be ferried to Catania later within the day.
Greater than 4,000 individuals have reached Italy since Wednesday, in comparison with round 1,300 for the entire of March final yr, because the nation’s conservative authorities struggles to include the inflow, regardless of repeated guarantees to stem the circulation.
The coastguard dispatched eight boats on Friday to numerous rescue operations, whereas a naval patrol boat was additionally referred to as in to stop any repeat of final month’s catastrophe, when a migrant ship broke aside a stone’s throw from the Calabrian coast.
The physique of a younger woman was recovered on Saturday, bringing the demise rely to 74. Seventy-nine individuals survived the shipwreck, however round 30 are nonetheless lacking, presumed lifeless.
Prosecutors are investigating whether or not Italian authorities ought to have executed extra to stop the catastrophe. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has rejected the suggestion and appeared to pin the blame totally on human traffickers.
Her cupboard on Thursday launched more durable jail phrases for individuals smugglers and promised to open up extra channels for authorized migration. Late final yr, it cracked down on charity rescue boats, accusing them of performing as a taxi service for migrants.
The measure has led to a pointy discount within the variety of rescue ships patrolling off North Africa, the place nearly all of the migrants set sail.
Nevertheless, departures have nonetheless picked up dramatically, with roughly 17,000 migrants reaching Italy by boat to this point this yr in opposition to some 6,000 in the identical interval of 2022.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
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