Italy hunts for migrant boats with dead on board

[Strengthandhonour]

Italy hunts for migrant boats with dead on board


Wed 25 Jul 2007, 9:44 GMT


ROME, July 25 (Reuters) - The Italian Coastguard searched the seas off Sicily on Wednesday for two boats carrying about 80 migrants who called for help using satellite phones and warned they had eight dead on board.
In a separate incident, one migrant -- still wearing his life jacket -- was found dead under an overturned boat off the southern Sicilian coast, authorities said.
The traffic of migrants from Africa trying to reach the Italian coast -- often in rickety, overcrowded boats -- usually picks up in the summer when the seas are calmer and the weather warmer.
Migrants on one boat called to say they had 34 people and five dead bodies on board and gave their location using the Global Positioning System on their satellite phone.
Another group of migrants called to say they had left Libya 30 hours ago but could not pinpoint where they were. They said they had 46 people on board plus three dead bodies.
"They spoke only Arabic, and don't understand English, Italian or other languages," a Coastguard spokesman said. "An interpreter is in touch with them, but they don't know how to use the GPS function on their phone. We are trying to explain to them how to use it, because we don't know where they are."
Over 500 migrants reached the southern Italian island of Lampedusa in less than 48 hours earlier this week, and at least six migrants died making the effort in the past two weeks.




source: News | Africa - Reuters.com

[Erik P]

It has to be made clear that no one who enters Europe illegally will be allowed to stay. And pressure has to be put on the North African countries to stop the smuggling. Then there will be no more drowning incidents.