On 27th September in a 45-foot long rusty fishing boat, 686 migrants arrived at the Island of Lampedusa, Italy. As per UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, this was the highest capacity vessel to arrive at Lampedusa since 2016. The migrants were of different nationalities, including arrivals from Morocco, Syria, Egypt, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia and Senegal. The vessel had sailed from Zuwara, Libya and was intercepted by the Italian patrol boats who guided it to the harbor.
Five migrants needed medical treatment and were sent to a local clinic whereas the rest were escorted to the overcrowded migrant reception center of Lampedusa. Toto Martello, the local Mayor, said that as the sea has now calmed down after a few days of bad weather, migrant landings have restarted.
On 28th September morning, an additional 117 migrants arrived in five more vessels. As per the Interior Ministry of Italy, this year approx. 45,000 migrants have arrived on the Italian shore which is six times more than the total migrant arrival for the first nine months of 2019. Using an aggressive interpretation of law to detain or deter NGO migrant rescue vessels, Matteo Salvini, the then Interior Minister had imposed a near complete closure of Italian Ports to migration. Those policies created legal and political difficulties for Salvini and he is undergoing trial on charges of kidnapping for refusing migrants rescue vessels to dock in Sicily in August 2019.
Earlier this month, the Italian Coast Guard had rescued 125 migrants who were huddling on a rocky shore of an uninhabited tiny isle. These recent arrivals have created an urgency for the Mediterranean countries to put pressure on the EU for handling migrant flow.
Source: https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2021/35545/fishing-boat-686-migrants-arrives-lampedusa-italy/
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