One Dead And 20 Missing As Two Boats Capsize In Malta’s Search And Rescue Zone
One person was reported dead and 20 are feared missing as two boats capsized in Malta’s SAR zone while the Italian coastguard coordinated a widespread rescue mission.
The Italian coastguard has rescued at least 1,200 migrants in distress during a massive rescue operation as smugglers took advantage of improving weather to launch 35 boats carrying prospective migrants from Tunisia to Europe, news agency AP reported.
All three boats were shipwrecked, the third 20 nautical miles off the coast of Lampedusa where three migrants are still missing.
Around 1,200 rescued migrants are crowded on the tiny island of Lampedusa awaiting processing to be transported to Sicily or the mainland.
Air and naval assets of the Italian Coast Guard, the Border Police, European border protection agency Frontex as well as a humanitarian organisation were involved in the operation.
12,000 people have reached Italy so far this year having set sail from Tunisia, compared with 1,300 in the same period of 2022. Fatalities from shipwrecks have also risen sharply, with dozens of deaths at sea in recent weeks.
Do you think that this year will see a larger than usual movement of people?
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