Wave of migrant landings in Lampedusa

There has been a new wave of migrant landings in recent days in Lampedusa, where over 400 migrants have landed within a few hours. 

After a boat with 215 persons, including nine women, two minors and a baby, three other boats with 70, 57 and 88 people arrived on the island.

All were transferred to the hotspot in the Imbriacola district which currently hosts almost 700 migrants. 

On Sunday, 80 minors were transferred to the mainland by ferry to Porto Empedocle and 202 adults on the Rapsody ship for the quarantine period. The other migrants who are still in the Center should be boarded in the coming hours on a quarantine ship if sea conditions allow.

In recent days, Lampedusa was declared a red zone due to the high number of Covid cases among the inhabitants. “The situation is holding up for now – said the mayor Totò Martello – also because the migrants landed on the island have no contact with the population and are transferred to quarantine ships”.

Main Photo: A file photo of a patrol boat of the Italian Coast Guard loaded with rescued migrants arrive at the port in Lampedusa, Italy. EPA-EFE/ELIO DESIDERIO

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