Seven migrants died of cold attempting the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean to Italy from Libya in a boat carrying 280 people, the mayor of the small island of Lampedusa told AFP on Tuesday January 25.
“
Three people died during the crossing, four others suffering from severe hypothermia died during their transfer to the island, after being intercepted by the coast guards
,” said Mayor Toto Martello.
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According to the humanitarian program Mediterranean Hope, linked to the Italian evangelical churches, the 280 people on board were from Bangladesh, Egypt, Mali and Sudan, and “
almost all were in a state of severe hypothermia
”.
The seven victims were from Bangladesh, according to Italian media.
“
What is shocking is that there is still a deafening silence from the Italian government and from Europe, even in the face of deaths
,” Toto Martello lamented.
64,500 migrant arrivals in Italy last year
Survivors were referred to the overcrowded health center and reception center on the small island, closer to Africa than Italy. The centre, which has a capacity of 250 places, currently accommodates more than 600 people. Just over a hundred were to be transferred on Tuesday to a quarantined ship moored off Cala Pisana, one of the island's tourist spots.
The number of migrant arrivals in Italy, which was 34,000 in 2020, almost doubled to 64,500 people in 2021. “
It has become a continuous phenomenon.
There is no longer any difference between summer and winter
”, observes Toto Martello.
“
This year, given the first figures, we will see that of 2021 double
”.
Despite freezing temperatures and rough seas, more than 1,750 people have arrived in Italy since the start of the month, compared to 379 over the same period last year.
