Over 300 migrants landed on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa between the night and early morning of Monday, April 28. Italian authorities have organized new transfers to move migrants from the overcrowded hotspot to the mainland.
More than 300 migrants reached the Sicilian island of Lampedusa between the night and early morning of Monday, April 28, following a series of rescue operations coordinated by EU border agency Frontex and Italian authorities.
The largest group included 138 people of different nationalities -- Egyptians, Eritreans, Ethiopians, Moroccans, Pakistanis, Syrians, Sudanese and Somalis.
They were rescued at dawn while they were travelling on a 12-meter-long boat that had departed from Sabratah, in Libya. They included 20 women and four minors.
Autonomous arrivals and rescue operations overnight
An additional 165 migrants had previously reached the island. A group of 56 people, including from Afghanistan and the Ivory Coast, autonomously reached the beach of Cala Croce.
Carabinieri police apprehended them and seized the 10-meter boat they had used for the crossing. Also overnight, Frontex cutters rescued two boats, respectively carrying 30 and 79 people, taking them to the Favarolo pier.
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Hotspot beyond its capacity
After the latest landings, the local hotspot in the Imbriacola district is hosting 611 people, well beyond its capacity. Authorities have thus planned the transfer of 260 migrants by ferry to Porto Empedocle, in Sicily. And on April 26, 139 migrants were also rescued off Lampedusa.
They hailed from Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh, Syria, Eritrea, Gambia, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Nigeria. They had travelled on two vessels that had departed from the Libyan coast of Abu Kanmash and Zuwarah.