ITALY: Hundreds of rescued migrants taken to Sicily

Record ID: 348732

  • Title: ITALY: Hundreds of rescued migrants taken to Sicily
  • Date: 10th April 2014
  • Summary: AUGUSTA, ITALY (APRIL 9, 2014) (REUTERS) PORT SIDE TENT CAMP FOR MIGRANTS VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS COLLECTING BELONGINGS AND BEING PUT ONTO BUSES VARIOUS OF POLICE CARRYING OUT BODY SEARCHES BEFORE MIGRANTS GET ONTO BUSES VARIOUS OF MIGRANT PLACING BELONGINGS INTO PLASTIC BAG MIGRANTS WAITING TO BE CHECKED MIGRANT PLACING BELONGINGS INTO BAG MIGRANTS WAITING TO BE MOVED MIGRANT
  • Embargoed: 25th April 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: People
  • Reuters ID: LVA71I1D1FIMVKYMI3C7KLGNUQ8I
  • Story Text: Hundreds of migrants were taken to the Sicilian port of Augusta on Wednesday (April 9) after being picked up from overcrowded boats by the Italian navy.
    The Italian interior minister said Italy had rescued 4,000 migrants in 48 hours from boats trying to reach European shores in a deepening immigration crisis.
    Migrants that had been housed in tents on the port side of Augusta were allowed to gather up their few belongings before being cleared and checked and put onto buses. New migrants arrived hours later as night fell.
    "Lets say the problem is that before, the bad weather helped us and gave us a bit of a break with the arrivals, now however the weather conditions are good and we should expect this influx nearly every day," said Rear Admiral Roberto Camerini.
    Migrants from Africa and Syria were helped off the Italian ship in the dark as emergency services stood by to treat those in need of medical attention. Some injured were carried on chairs before being placed on buses. A veiled woman was helped onto an ambulance.
    The men will be sent to holding centres before being checked as to whether they can claim asylum status. The families will most likely stay in tents on the port until appropriate housing is found.
    Rome has repeatedly urged the European Union to take a greater role in policing the seas as two-thirds of migrants who reach Italy travel onwards to other countries in the region. The interior minister said 15,000 migrants had arrived in Italy by sea since the start of 2014.
    Rescues over the past two days included one group of 1,049 migrants containing 91 women and three babies, who were spotted by a navy helicopter and a drone as their boats ran into difficulty. They were rescued by ships and brought to ports on the island of Sicily.
    Italy is a major gateway into Europe for migrants who cross the Mediterranean, often in overcrowded and flimsy vessels.
    Two shipwrecks last October, one in which 366 Eritreans drowned and another in which 200 mostly Syrians died, prompted the Italian government to put its navy on permanent patrol in the waters between Sicily and North Africa.
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