Many migrants missing in Mediterranean after dinghy deflates

By Linda Bordoni

With bad weather making operations more difficult, the Italian coastguard said it was being supported by aircraft supplied by the army and the police, as well as the European Union's border agency Frontex after survivors said dozens had fallen overboard due to the rough seas.

Those rescued said some 56 people from Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Mali were in the dinghy when it departed from the Tunisian port of Sfax on Monday. It started to deflate only a few hours later. 

In a separate search and rescue operation on Tuesday, the coastguard intervened in another sinking after being alerted to a rubber dinghy in distress and found 10 survivors.

Lampedusa: Pope Francis' first apostolic visit

They are being assisted in Lampedusa, a first port of call for many migrants seeking to reach the EU. Lampedusa is the destination of Pope Francis’ very first apostolic visit right at the start of his pontificate in 2013, when he appealed for protection and respect for those fleeing conflict and poverty, a call that has gained momentum and urgency throughout the past 12 years becoming one of the cornerstones of his magisterium.

Meanwhile, a report by the U.N. Missing Migrant Project estimates that between 2014 and 2024 over 31,500 people, at least 1,300 of them children and minors, drowned during the dangerous Mediterranean crossing. The project says the number may be greater as many deaths go unrecorded.

Italian immigration policy

According to Italian Interior Ministry figures more than 66,600 sea migrants arrived in Italy last year, fewer than half of the 2023 figure, and around 9,000 have reached Italian shores so far this year. That’s a 4% increase over the same period last year.

In an effort to discourage immigration, Italy’s right-wing government has pushed for economic agreements with northern African countries aimed at preventing departures.  This has resulted in many migrants being taken back to detention centres, mainly in Libya, where reports of torture and mistreatment are rampant.

Appeal from 'Save the Children'

Lamenting the tragedy, Giorgia D'Errico, Director of Institutional Relations of the charity Save the Children, released a statement saying "While political and media attention is largely focused on the new proposal to reform European regulations on repatriation, yet another avoidable tragedy has occurred at sea. We cannot become accustomed to these deaths."

Save the Children, she adds, "Reiterates its call for the establishment of a coordinated and structured search and rescue system at sea to save lives, acting in accordance with international principles and demonstrating the solidarity that is a fundamental value of the European Union. We also urge the opening of regular and safe channels for reaching Europe."