As many as 130 refugees have been missing after their boat broke up in the turbulent seas off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, according to officials.
Major Ivan Consiglio, a spokesman for Malta’s armed forces, said that about 200 people were reported to be aboard the boat that had left Libya, and was destined for either Italy or Malta. He said that a distress call was made using satellite phone by the migrants to Malta last night. The emergency call was traced and the co-ordinates for assistance, 39 miles off Lampedusa, were passed on to the Italian Coast Guard.
But when an Italian Coast Guard vessel reached the region, the rough seas had broken the boat of the migrants in half, throwing all passengers overboard. 47 people so far, have been rescued and 15 bodies have been sighted, Commander Sandro Nicastro from Italy’s Coast Guard Command Center, said. He said that Italian and Maltese ships are looking for survivors. The rescue operation is being hindered by bad weather. Nicastro said, "We fear many dead."
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement, that in the last few days, nearly 2,000 Eritreans, Somalis and Sudanese have fled Tripoli by boat to Italy and Malta.
