*Tiny coffin of Lampedusa boat tragedy victim with a teddy on the lid among
dozens buried in anonymous vaults despite Italian Prime Minister's promise
of a state funeral*
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2461672/Lampedusa-boat-tragedy-victims-buried-anonymous-vaults.html
- Unknown child was among over 300 asylum-seekers who drowned when their
boat caught fire and sank
- Dozens of coffins buried in vaults in Sicily despite Italian Prime
Minister's promise to hold a state funeral for the victims
By Daniel Miller<
http://de-mg42.mail.yahoo.com/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Daniel+Miller>
*PUBLISHED:* 13:54 EST, 15 October 2013 | *UPDATED:* 13:59 EST, 15 October
2013
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2461672/Lampedusa-boat-tragedy-victims-buried-anonymous-vaults.html#ixzz2hqE64qmw
A tiny coffin with a teddy bear fixed poignantly to the lid is lowered
into an anonymous vault - the final resting place for one of the youngest
victims of Italy's worst ever refugee tragedy.
The unknown child was among more than 300 Eritrean and Somali
asylum-seekers who
drowned when their fishing boat caught fire and sank last just half a mile
from the island of Lampedusa on October 3.
The coffin was one of dozens buried in vaults in the small cemetery of
Piano Gatta near the city of Agrigento in Sicily despite Italian Prime
Minister Enrico Letta's promise to hold a state funeral for the victims.
[image: Laid to rest: The coffin of one of the youngest victims of this
months Lampedusa sinking tragedy is lowered into an anonymous vault after
arriving in Sicily]
Laid to rest: The coffin of one of the youngest victims of the Lampedusa
boat tragedy is lowered into an anonymous vault after arriving in Sicily
Among those who died was a baby, born as its mother drowned and still
attached by the umbilical cord when rescue divers pulled their bodies from
the wreck.
- At least 85 killed after magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits the central
Philippines<
http://de-mg42.mail.yahoo.com/news/article-2460461/Philippines-earthquake-death-toll-reaches-85-magnitude-7-2-quake.html>
- Shocking image of hundreds of African migrants on raft bound for
Europe as it emerges 20,000 may have died in past two
decades<
http://de-mg42.mail.yahoo.com/news/article-2457791/Shocking-image-hundreds-African-migrants-raft-bound-Europe-emerges-20-000-died-past-decades.html>
The child was to be buried in the same coffin as its mother rather than in
a small white coffin like the other children. The mother herself was only
around 20 years old.
Despite the appalling loss of life, refugees are continuing to make the
dangerous crossing from north Africa to Europe on an almost daily basis.
[image: Final journey: Workers carry the white coffin with a teddy bear
fixed to the top after it arrived in Sicily from Lampedusa]
Final journey: Workers carry the white coffin with a teddy bear fixed to
the top after it arrived in Sicily from Lampedusa
[image: The coffins were laid to rest in anonymous vaults after a brief
ceremony even though Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta had promised to
hold a state funeral for the victims]
The coffins were laid to rest in anonymous vaults after a brief ceremony
even though Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta had promised to hold a
state funeral for the victims
[image: A small coffin belonging to the victim of the October 3 tragedy in
which more than 300 people drowned is unloaded at port in Sicily after
arriving from Lampedusa]
A small coffin belonging to a victim of the October 3 tragedy in which more
than 300 people drowned is unloaded at port in Sicily after arriving from
Lampedusa
On Friday, at least 33 people died when their boat capsized between Malta
and Lampedusa.
And today the Italian navy rescued about 370 migrants between Sicily and
Libya the government deployed ships, helicopters and unmanned drones to
help avert further shipwrecks.
A naval frigate and a patrol boat brought some 290 people, mostly Syrians,
Somalis and Eritreans, to Lampedusa after two migrant vessels used
satellite phones to dial for help late on Monday, the navy said.
Lampedusa, which lies southwest of Sicily and just 70 miles (113 km) from
the coast of Tunisia, has been a stepping stone for migrants seeking a
better life in Europe for two decades.
[image: The coffins are placed on the quayside in Sicily after being
unloaded from the Italian military ship Libra]
The coffins are placed on the quayside in Sicily after being unloaded from
the Italian military ship Libra
[image: Crew members of the Italian military vessel Libra prepare to use
the crane to unload coffins of the refugees who died in the tragedy earlier
this month]
Crew members of the Italian military vessel Libra prepare to use the crane
to unload coffins of the refugees who died in the tragedy earlier this month
Now the Syrian civil war and unrest in Egypt and other Arab and African
countries are fuelling the flow of refugees, many of whom have to pass
through an increasingly unstable Libya.
Sicily's regional parliament declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, a
move that allows it to tap additional funds to help its struggling
immigration services.
The reception centre on Lampedusa, which is under Sicily's administration,
is now hosting four or five times its capacity.
To try to stem the flow of rickety boats and prevent further tragedies,
Italy began on Tuesday deploying more ships, long-range helicopters, an
airplane equipped with night-vision, plus unmanned drone aircraft.
[image: coffins]
Coffins of those who died when a ship carrying African migrants towards
Italy sank after a fire. A woman, who gave birth as she was dying, and her
prematurely born son are among the dead.
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2461672/Lampedusa-boat-tragedy-victims-buried-anonymous-vaults.html#ixzz2hqEN76Bv
Follow us: _at_MailOnline on
Twitter<
http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=MailOnline>|
DailyMail
on Facebook <
http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=DailyMail>
Received on Wed Oct 16 2013 - 10:14:32 EDT