Date: Wed, 25 May 2016 22:42:16 +0200
Hundreds pulled from sea as ship capsizes off Libyan coast
Fears death toll could rise with seven bodies recovered already after 6,000 people rescued by Libyan and Italian authorities in past three days
Migrants and refugees rescued this week off Libyan coast wait for a meal (AFP)
Wednesday 25 May 2016 12:14 UTC
About 600 people have been pulled from the sea off the Libyan coast after an overcrowded boat overturned, the Italian navy said on Wednesday.
But seven bodies have been recovered in the incident and the death toll could yet rise with the rescue operation continuing.
The navy's Bettica patrol vessel spotted "a boat in precarious conditions off the coast of Libya with numerous migrants aboard," it said in a statement.
"Shortly afterwards, the boat overturned due to overcrowding. The Bettica, which had arrived nearby, threw life-rafts and jackets" to the people in the water, while another navy ship in the area sent a helicopter and rescue boats.
Middle East Eye's Simona Sikimic in the Sicilian port of Palermo reported on Wednesday that 1,053 people including 260 unaccompanied children had arrived there aboard a rescue ship.
Ambulances were gathered at the port as several pregnant passengers and others in wheelchairs were taken off the ship. Several people, alleged to have smuggled the passengers, were arrested at the scene and could face 10 years in jail.
Aid sources in Palermo tell MEE that facilities in Palermo for unaccompanied minors are already at full capacity.
The latest arrivals bring the number of people rescued and brought to Italy since the start of the year to nearly 40,000, according to data released by the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) earlier this week.
Some 5,600 people were rescued from the Mediterranean on Monday and Tuesday with at least 2,800, rescued by Libyan authorities and returned to the North African country, according to a report in Italian daily La Repubblica.
The surge of people comes as conditions on the Mediterranean have lulled following a spate of rough weather and further landings are expected in the next 24 hours, said our correspondent.
The nationalities of those rescued were not immediately available although the overwhelming majority of those arriving in Italy so far this year have been from sub-Saharan Africa.
Officials say there is no sign yet of Middle Eastern refugees switching to the Libyan route to Europe following moves to restrict access from Turkey via the Greek islands.
Earlier this month, a British parliamentary committee said the EU's naval mission to combat people trafficking off Libya - called Operation Sophia - was "failing" and succeeded only in forcing people smugglers to change tactics.
The operation, the committee said, "does not in any meaningful way deter the flow of migrants, disrupt the smugglers' networks or impede the business of people smuggling on the central Mediterranean route".
The operation's destruction of wooden boots has also encouraged smugglers to use rubber dinghies, which has put travellers at great risk, the committee's report said.