Pulling into a Med port, the ship carrying 1,500 migrants
CRAMMED on to a ship with a normal capacity of 600, almost 1,500 migrants arrive in Italy after being rescued from rickety vessels in the Mediterranean.
Their nightmare ended as they landed in Naples yesterday after being forced to endure an extra two days on board because of the G7 summit in Sicily.
The nearest port to where they were picked up was on the island, but the vessel was not allowed to dock there because of the tight security in place for the meeting of world leaders.
So although the summit pledged to ‘uphold the human rights’ of migrants, the refugees – who included children and pregnant women – had to sail on in cramped conditions to Naples.
Among the 1,449 refugees packed on to the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) ship Prudence were 207 women, 22 of them pregnant, and more than 140 children, the youngest just a week old.
Aid workers for the charity rescued a total of 12 boats in distress during a gruelling ten-hour operation beginning on Thursday. They also retrieved two dead bodies from a rubber dinghy.
Michele Trainiti, MSF’s search and rescue co- ordinator, said: ‘Due to security restrictions for the G7 summit, no landings were allowed in any Sicilian port between May 22-28. Therefore Prudence was forced to sail north to Naples, a journey which took more than 48 hours from the search and rescue zone.
‘The situation in the Mediterra- nean continues to be unbearable, with people dying every day. We reiterate our urgent call to the EU and G7 leaders to provide safe and legal alternatives for people seeking protection.
‘We also call on them to provide adequate and dedicated resources to rescue lives at sea, now. This is the sole solution to immediately alleviate sufferings and reduce loss of lives.’
In total, more than 2,300 people were saved by charities and the Italian coastguard as warm weather prompted a surge in migrants making the perilous trip from Africa.
This year has already seen record numbers of African migrants mak- ing the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean, with Italy the frontline of the crisis. The increase has led to more than 1,530 deaths so far this year.
Last week a leaked intelligence report said 6.6million are waiting to cross into Europe. One million are in Libya and 3.3million more are in Turkey.