More than 1,200 migrants reach Italy by boat, drownings reported
ROME | Mon Jun 17, 2013 8:35am EDT
(Reuters) - More than 1,200 migrants reached
<
http://www.reuters.com/places/italy> Italy over the weekend after
attempting the perilous sea passage from Africa in flimsy vessels, the
Italian coast guard said on Monday.
The coast guard said it had rescued most of the migrants at sea after
intercepting nearly 20 boats and was still searching for others but it could
not confirm reports that up to 10 people had died during the attempted
crossing.
This year's first wave of summer heat has brought with it relatively calm
waters, prompting impoverished immigrants desperately seeking work in the
European Union to set off in rubber rafts and wooden boats. Many do not
survive the passage.
Italian media reported that 95 immigrants were saved from a large raft. The
survivors told of as many as 10 who had died after a Tunisian
<
http://www.reuters.com/sectors/industries/overview?industryCode=113&lc=int_
mb_1001> fishing boat cut loose the tuna cages it was dragging and that
several immigrants were clinging onto.
"We do not have a confirmation of this," a coast guard spokeswoman said.
"These are rumors from people we rescued but we found no bodies."
Italy's Foreign Ministry said it had not heard of the incident, which
reportedly took place in international waters.
In 2008, a picture of 27 Somali immigrants clinging to the tuna nets of an
Italian
<
http://www.reuters.com/sectors/industries/overview?industryCode=113&lc=int_
mb_1001> fishing boat came to symbolize a tragic summer in which many boats
sank in choppy waters during the crossover, drowning unknown numbers.
Thousands of immigrants seek the southern shores of
<
http://www.reuters.com/places/italy?lc=int_mb_1001> Italy every summer,
when the waters in the Strait of Sicily become calm enough for small boats
to make the crossing, usually from
<
http://www.reuters.com/places/libya?lc=int_mb_1001> Libya or
<
http://www.reuters.com/places/tunisia> Tunisia.
They come seeking work in the EU and many do not remain in Italy. Those who
do, or who are taken into Italian custody, can be sent home.
(Reporting by Steve Scherer, editing by Gareth Jones)
Received on Mon Jun 17 2013 - 22:07:15 EDT