Lampedusa over the weekend mourned the death of three people whose boat capsized off the island on the day of the Epiphany (Friday, January 6), a national holiday in Italy. The seven-meter-long boat on which they were travelling capsized some 38 miles off the island's coast with 36 passengers on board. The vessel had departed from the Tunisian city of Sfax.

A newborn was among the survivors while 14-month-old Sara, who was from the Ivory Coast, Jonny, a 38-year-old Ivorian and Melen, also 38 and from Cameroon, lost their lives. They drowned after the boat sank in the late morning of Friday.

Prosecutors in the Sicilian city of Agrigento have opened an investigation into the incident against unknown suspects on charges of favoring illegal immigration and death as a consequence of another crime.

The migrants -- including the parents of the children on board -- were rescued from the water by the crew members of two Tunisian fishing vessels.

Six people, including the three victims, were then transferred to a coast guard cutter and taken to Lampedusa. The other 30 passengers were taken to the island a few hours later by finance police and coast guards. The survivors, including 10 women, were questioned by authorities who are trying to understand what happened during the crossing, why the boat capsized and who was at its helm.

Lampedusa needs 'special law', mayor says

Filippo Mannino, the mayor of the Pelagie Islands, which include Lampedusa, said: "We are at war, a silent war that many ignore or pretend to ignore." He called for a "special law for Lampedusa to concretely help deal with this phenomenon that inevitably impacts the management of the territory and, as a consequence, the municipal administration."

Mannino called in particular for "personnel, a task force ready to deal on a daily basis with all aspects connected to rescue operations and the organization of hosting."

During his seven months in office, the mayor has witnessed the arrival of the bodies of 20 adults and seven children in 2022 and two adults and a child this year.

He expressed the wish that the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi will grant to the municipality the "promised aid".

He said that with the current rate of arrivals, "with these record numbers even during wintertime, I don't know for how long we will be able to deal with all this."

"The interior minister should come to Lampedusa and spend at least 24 hours with me. Perhaps he will then realize the enormity of the problem and he will propose to the government serious and concrete solutions," he added.

884 migrants in hotspot designed to host 398 people

Lampedusa's hotspot on Monday, January 9, was estimated to host 884 people. It was designed to host a maximum of 398 people.

On January 8, the Cossyra ferry took 202 of the facility's guests to Porto Empedocle. As of January 9, poor weather conditions were expected to halt transfers.

Overall, 243 people reached the island on six little boats on Sunday, January 8.

Meanwhile the city of Crotone, in Calabria, reported the first migrant landing of the year in the night of Sunday, January 8, when 62 migrants arrived after being rescued by finance police who intercepted their sailboat off Isola Capo Rizzuto.

The boat's passengers included 21 children and 16 women. The migrants hailed from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Italian Red Cross volunteers reportedly welcomed the migrants and transferred them to the hosting center of Isola Capo Rizzuto.