14 Mediterranean migrants die; 6,100 survive
ROME –– Fourteen bodies have been recovered and about 6,100 people have been saved in migrant rescues in the Mediterranean Sea over the weekend, the Italian coast guard said Sunday.
Vessels run by German nongovernmental organizations Jugend Rettet and Lifeboat Project, the coast guard and the European Union border agency Frontex contributed to four rescue missions Sunday that saved 400 people, a statement said.
Earlier, the coast guard said it had coordinated 20 operations Saturday, which intercepted about 2,400 survivors and retrieved seven bodies; and 24 missions at sea Friday, which picked up about 3,300 people and seven dead migrants.
In Sicily, almost 3,300 migrants were due to disembark in five different ports, news agency ANSA said. Seven bodies were also due to be returned, it added.
About 460 migrants and the body of a pregnant woman in her mid-20s arrived in the port of Naples early Sunday, the ANSA news agency said, quoting local Interior Ministry official Gerarda Pantalone.
Also taking part in the rescues, the German navy saved 844 people in a number of actions, their operations command reported Sunday. They were to be brought to an Italian harbor aboard the naval support ship Werra.
The German military has since 2015 been part of Operation Sophia, an international operation aimed at combating refugee smuggling in the Mediterranean.
Italy is the main landing point for the migrants.
News of the rescues came amid reports that clashes broke out elsewhere in Europe at a camp for migrants.
Violence was reported Sunday as residents of “the Jungle” — the infamous refugee camp in Calais, northern France — lashed out at government preparations to close the sprawling settlement.
Dozens of people could be seen throwing rocks at police in images relayed by French broadcaster BFMTV. The authorities then fired with tear gas.
France wants to close the camp, which is home to about 6,500 migrants, starting today and ship its residents to camps across the country. The operation is expected to take about a week. About 1,250 police officers have been called in to help with the job.
Helpers working in the camp said most of the residents did not want to go.
“Some will try to hide themselves in neighboring parts of Calais. There’s a real threat we’re going to have a pursuit situation,” said Christian Salome, head of the aid organization Auberge des Migrants.