A two-year-old girl has died and eight other people have been reported missing after a boat carrying about 50 people across the central Mediterranean sank in waters off the coast of Lampedusa, Italian authorities said.
The Italian coastguard, aided by a local fishing boat, managed to rescue 42 people on Monday, including the baby girl, but she subsequently died on-board a rescue vessel en route to the island, the Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said on Tuesday.
The nationality of the child has not been disclosed.
Accounts from survivors indicate that eight people are still missing, prompting ongoing search and rescue efforts involving boats and helicopters. Authorities indicated that two children were among those unaccounted for.
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Lampedusa has witnessed an increase in migrant arrivals in recent days, with 11 vessels landing on Monday, carrying about 800 people. Among them was a fishing vessel carrying 576 people from Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Morocco, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The increase comes in a year in which there have already been 150,000 migrants arriving in Italy, compared with roughly 94,000 during the same period in 2022, according to the latest data from the interior ministry.
On November 6th, the Italian government announced plans to establish centres in Albania to accommodate asylum seekers, with the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, hailing it as a “historic” deal with Tirana to manage migration flows.
The agreement involves the creation of Albanian centres capable of housing up to 3,000 people. Only those rescued at sea by Italian boats will be taken to Albania; the centres will not accommodate asylum seekers who arrive on Italian shores. Minors, pregnant women, and vulnerable individuals who arrive at sea will continue to be transferred to Italy.
Mr Tajani announced on Tuesday that the government would soon present a bill in parliament to ratify the agreement with Tirana, claiming that “migrants will receive the same treatment as indicated by Italian and European regulations”.
“We hope it can be approved in a time frame that is consistent with the urgency of tackling the management of growing migration flows,” he added.
The EU expressed surprise at Italy’s deal, saying it had requested more information. Last week European commissioner Ylva Johansson, responsible for home affairs, said an initial assessment suggested the deal did not violate EU law as it fell outside the EU’s jurisdiction.
However, aid workers and non-governmental organisations have criticised the agreement, labelling it a “further blow” to EU solidarity and drawing comparisons to the UK’s deal with Rwanda, which the UK’s highest court this month declared unlawful.
Italy rejects this.
Mr Tajani said: “There is no outsourcing of the processing of asylum applications to a third country and there is no derogation from internationally guaranteed rights, which are expressly reaffirmed several times in the protocol.’’
The central Mediterranean route is recognised as the world’s deadliest migration route and a “liquid graveyard” where thousands of people have perished during the crossing.
According to Italy’s international organisation for migration, almost 2,200 people have died or gone missing in the year to date while attempting the journey. – Guardian