By April 5, the migrant population at the Lampedusa hotspot had reached 1,263 individuals, despite continuous transfers ordered by the Agrigento prefect's office. Among them were 157 unaccompanied minors.

On the same day, as part of efforts to lighten pressure on the initial reception facilities, the territorial office of the government ordered three transfers: 261 migrants left the island in the morning on a ferry for Porto Empedocle; 180 via an OIM flight to Bergamo in the afternoon; and others on a ship in the evening.

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Hotspot crowded after latest wave

A total of 333 migrants arrived over the night between April 4 and 5 on Lampedusa. They were rescued from six small boats near the island, while a seventh vessel made its way to Guitgia beach independently.

On April 4, a total of 16 boats arrived carrying 670 migrants. Among them, a 12-meter-long boat arrived at Guitbia beach overnight, carrying 58 Bangladeshi, Egyptian, and Pakistani nationals who had set sail from Zwara in Libya and were intercepted upon arrival by the Carabinieri.

Each of the six boats that departed from Sfax, El Amra, Soussa, and Mahdia in Tunisia and were intercepted by Italian Coast Guard and Financial Police patrol boats carried between 33 and 57 individuals, including Gambians, Nigerians, Senegalese, Guineans, Malians, and Ivorians, including women and children.

After undergoing initial health checks at the Favarolo wharf, the migrants were transferred to the hotspot in the Imbriacola area, while their boats were left to drift in open waters.

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