Sicily steps in with 1 million euros aid for Lampedusa fishermen affected by migrant dinghy wrecks. "Finally, our calls were answered," says Mayor Mannino, thanking officials for supporting the local fishing sector. Meanwhile, more migrants have arrived on the island.
One million euros to help the fishermen in Lampedusa who suffered damages to their equipment on board or to their fishing nets due to the dinghy wrecks found at sea.
Fishing aid in the amount of one million euro was provided by the Regional Assembly of Sicily (ARS) to support the entire fishing sector in Sicily which suffered damages from migrant dinghies.
"We asked many times for the intervention of the region of Sicily and the ministries to resolve this problem, and finally our requests were answered," stressed the Mayor of the Pelagie islands, Filippo Mannino.
"We thank the President of the region Renato Schifani, the Regional Councillor for Fishing and all Sicilian members of Parliament who supported this measure to support the fishing sector."
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Additional arrivals in Lampedusa, five dinghies rescued
In the meantime, a total of 266 migrants arrived in Lampedusa, after the boat patrol of the Port Authority and the Finance Guard rescued four dinghies on Wednesday morning (July 31).
On board there were three groups, one of 54 persons (including 14 women and 3 minors), another one with 49 persons, another one of 65 persons (including 2 women and 2 minors), and a last one with 98 persons coming from Bangladesh, Egypt, China, Eritrea, Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Morocco.
One of the 98 migrants who arrived during the night, who left from Tajoura in Libya, was taken to the dock in Favarolo and to the hospital for leg trauma.
All the others were taken to the hotspot of Contrada Imbriacola, from where a woman, who was ill, was transferred, together with her husband, by helicopter rescue, to the San Giovanni di Dio hospital in Agrigento.
Another 65 migrants, who had left according to them from Zawia and Tajoura in Libya, were able to reach Lampedusa on Wednesday late afternoon bringing the total number of boats intercepted to five.
The two fiberglass boats, on which 35 and 30 Bengalese, Egyptians, Syrians, and Algerians were traveling were blocked by the Coast Guard's patrol boats. Even these two groups were taken to the hotspot, where there now are 485 guests.
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