Three shipwrecks in Lampedusa: two dead and twenty missing

Three shipwrecks in a few hours in Lampedusa: two bodies recovered, including that of a 26-year-old woman, about twenty missing and 118 migrants rescued . The Sicilian island is once again being assaulted by the small iron boats that depart from Tunisia.

After 4 days of stop due to rough seas, in the last few hours the Coast Guard has rescued 35 boats and around 1,200 people. At the contrada Imbriacola hotspot, in the evening, there were 1,638 guests, compared to just under 400 seats available .

The comings and goings of patrol boats from the Harbor Master's Office and Guardia di Finanza loaded with migrants continued unabated for the whole day. Particularly worrying were those small iron boats - already defined as "floating coffins" by the regent prosecutor of Agrigento, Salvatore Vella, - which suddenly sank. On the last one, 7 meters long, 38 were traveling, originating from Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali and South Sudan. The vessel, according to the stories of the survivors themselves, had already taken on water when, at the sight of the Guardia di Finanza patrol boat, some of the non-EU citizens stood up to try and wave their arms to ask for help.

At that moment the vehicle overturned and the occupants all ended up in the water. A 26-year-old woman drowned. The other body recovered, victim of another shipwreck, is that of a young man who was taken to the morgue of the Cala Pisana cemetery.

The Agrigento prosecutor's office has opened investigations into the two shipwrecks with victims for aiding and abetting illegal immigration and death as a consequence of another crime .

Other shipwrecks with dozens of dead are also reported by the Libyan and Tunisian authorities . "The bodies of 34 migrants who drowned trying to reach Europe were recovered on the west coast of Libya in 5 days," the Libyan Red Crescent said. The Tunisian Coast Guard of Sfax, Kerkennah and Mahdia recovered the bodies of 30 people, including those of two women and two children, in a state of decomposition on Sunday.

(Unioneonline/L)