Lampedusa camp overcrowded as some 2,000 more boat migrants arrive

Rome, Sept. 12, (dpa/GNA) – More than 2,000 migrants have arrived by boat on the small Mediterranean island of Lampedusa since Sunday, the ANSA news agency reported on Tuesday.

The reception centre on the Italian island, which has facilities for 400 people, is overcrowded, as it has been several times this year.

After a period in which migrant arrivals on the island eased somewhat, a queue of small metal boats formed in front of Lampedusa’s port on Tuesday morning, waiting to dock at the pier, ANSA reported.

On Monday, some 1,900 Mediterranean migrants arrived on Lampedusa on 51 boats.

To relieve the camp, authorities are trying to bring as many people as possible to the mainland by ferries or police boats.

Most of the people set sail from the Tunisian coastal town of Sfax, ANSA reported.

Lampedusa, located between Sicily and North Africa, is about 190 kilometres from the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax.

According to the report, migrants have paid smugglers sums ranging between €300 and €1,500 ($322 and $1,600) for passage to Europe.

According to the latest data, the Italian Interior Ministry estimates about 116,000 boat migrants have reached Italy this year compared to the same period last year which was just under 63,500.

Many people brave the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to reach Italy, and thereby the European Union, from countries like Libya and Tunisia.

There are often reports of fatalities after overcrowded migrant boats, which are unseaworthy, sink at sea.

GNA