A boat believed to be carrying 250 irregular immigrants capsized off the Italian island of Lampedusa yesterday leaving dozens of people dead in the sea.
The tragic incident happened 60 nautical miles south of Lampedusa in Malta’s search and rescue area.
Many were saved by Maltese and Italian rescuers, who averted a much bigger tragedy only a week after more than 300 migrants died when their boat capsized off Lampedusa.
A Maltese army patrol boat with 150 people on board, including 20 women and 17 children, was expected to make the 10-hour voyage back to its base in Pietà during the night. Another 56 people, including eight women and nine children, were rescued by an Italian patrol boat. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said last night he ordered the army to disembark the rescued migrants in Malta even though, under normal circumstances, they would have been taken to Lampedusa.
The AFM soldiers out there are Malta’s heroes tonight. They are Europe’s heroes.
He confirmed that at least 31 people had died, including three children, two of them very young. He said the search would continue throughout the night and the number of dead people was expected to rise.
Dr Muscat said Mater Dei Hospital was on full alert for any eventuality and the morgue at St Luke’s Hospital was re-opened to cater for any emergency.
An Italian doctor examined the 150 people rescued by the army to determine whether they were fit to endure the lengthy voyage to Malta and urgent medical cases were flown to Lampedusa and Sicily.
It was an Armed Forces of Malta aircraft dispatched to the area that spotted the overloaded boat at about 4pm yesterday as it made its way towards Lampedusa.
The boat was unstable and, a few minutes later, the aircraft reported that it had capsized and numerous people were in the water.
The aircraft provided initial assistance when it dropped a life raft in the sea, which, according to Dr Muscat, was instrumental in saving lives.
Just before 6pm, the army’s biggest vessel, the P61, was the first to arrive on site. As the rescue operation got underway it was joined by the Italian patrol ship ITS Libra. Italian and Maltese helicopters were also dispatched to the area.
Speaking on the stairs of Auberge de Castille, accompanied by Foreign Minister George Vella, the Prime Minister said he was in constant contact with his Italian counterpart, Enrico Letta.
“Letta and I agreed the time had come for the EU to take concrete action. This is no longer a wake-up call,” Dr Muscat said, insisting immigration was a European problem.
He said he was informed that immigration would be on the agenda of the next EU council in a few weeks’ time.
“It is good that we discuss the issue but talk alone will get us nowhere.”
Dr Muscat said the EU had to help Libya control its borders, agree on rules of engagement for joint sea patrols and, over the long term, provide development aid to the migrants’ countries of origin. “I will not come out of the European council meeting satisfied if we only have a discussion about the matter,” he said.
Dr Muscat expressed the Government’s willingness to discuss a proposal floated by European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström for the creation of legal ways for migrants to enter the EU.
He also praised the army’s efforts to save lives, saying: “The AFM soldiers out there are Malta’s heroes tonight. They are Europe’s heroes.”
Last week, more than 300 irregular immigrants died when their boat capsized less than a kilometre away from Lampedusa’s shores in what was described as the biggest migrant tragedy in the Mediterranean.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com