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(Lampedusa) The Italian coast guards announced Wednesday that they had rescued a hundred migrants in distress on a dinghy that was deflating in front of Libya, no authority competent not having wanted to intervene.
Published on 027 July 2020 at 8am 54
France Media Agency
The boat, “deprived of engine and half deflated”, according to the press release from the coast guard, was seen by an apparatus Tuesday afternoon in the Libyan search and rescue zone (SAR).
“The Libyan authority responsible for search and rescue activities at sea has not assumed the coordination of rescue operations due to lack of naval resources”, specifies the press release.
The Coast Guard then informed the Maltese authorities, whose SAR is close to the Libyan one.
They also alerted the authorities of Gibraltar, a vessel flying the flag of this territory being nearby, as well as the French authorities due to the presence in the area of a Total oil rig.
France replied that no vessel flying the French flag was in this Libyan area of responsibility and, given “the persistent silence of the Maltese authorities and Gibraltar ”, Rome assumed the coordination of operations and sent a ship to rescue the refugees.
These latter, 84 people, including six women and two children, were transferred at dawn on Wednesday to the Italian ship which is now heading for the island from Lampedusa.
The reception center of this island, the first European land on the path of migrants from North Africa, is saturated with the arrival of hundreds of people in recent days.
More than 300 people, mainly Tunisians, arrived during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday on board 12 boats, bringing to approximately 828 the total number of migrants in the reception center including the theoretical capacity is 94 people.
