Yet another sea tragedy was avoided last night. A fishing boat with 245 people on board - Syrians, Pakistanis, Egyptians and Bangladeshis - was rescued by three patrol boats from the Guardia di Finanza and one from Frontex, which then took the twenty meter long boat which set sail from Zuara, Libya, to Lampedusa . But the 4 units did not limit themselves to "escorting" the boat in difficulty: they in fact placed it alongside the wagon, acting as a "shield" to prevent the stormy sea from capsizing it.

Once the refugees arrived at the Favarolo pier, they said they paid from 2 thousand to 5 thousand dollars each for the crossing which began on Friday evening. Everyone, after an initial health triage which did not highlight any critical issues, was taken to the hotspot in the Imbriacola district where, at dawn, there were 251 people. The transfer plan arranged by the Prefecture made it possible to immediately empty the first reception facility. A few hours later, only 10 remained in the center, all unaccompanied minors. The other 241 were boarded on the Galaxy ferry bound for Porto Empedocle, from where they will be moved to the Catania hub in the evening. Three minors, however, will be hosted in centers in the Agrigento area.

According to data from the Interior Ministry, this year the landings have doubled: as of 20 October 141,043 migrants had landed in Italy, while the year before there were 77,167 and 50,881 in 2021. Most of the refugees fleeing are Guineans, Ivorians, Tunisians, Egyptians, Bangladeshis and Burkina Faso. Of the over 141,000 who have landed on our shores, 14,449 are unaccompanied minors who are not always easy to place in reception facilities. Last year there were just over 14 thousand, the year before over 10 thousand.

(Unioneonline/ss)