The Italian Coast Guard has rescued 125 migrants who took refuge on the rocky shore of a small uninhabited island after one of their ships sank near the island of Lampedusa.
ROME – Italian Coast Guard rescues 125 migrants who were gathered on the rocky shore of a small uninhabited island on Thursday morning after one of its two ships partially sank near the island of Lampedusa .
The migrants, who included 49 women and 20 minors, were “in a state of shock” when they were found on the Isola dei Conigli, the Coast Guard said. The rocky islet is right in front of one of the most popular beaches in Lampedusa, which attracts tourists to enjoy its crystal clear waters.
One of the two boats the migrants had traveled on was partially sunk, the Coast Guard said.
The rescue of migrants complicated the rough seas and uneven reefs. Special Coast Guard rescue swimmers jumped into the sea near where the migrants gathered to bring them an inflatable yellow raft. A diver guided the raft to a pair of motorboats while the crew members of the boats called for the immigrants to board the raft in groups of three.
Eventually, the 125 were safely hoisted aboard the rescue boats, wrapped in protective gear against the morning chill, and taken to the port of Lampedusa about four kilometers (2.5 miles) away. East. The Coast Guard said in a statement that all migrants were in good health.
Lampedusa has a housing complex for migrants arriving on the island after the rescue of poorly navigable ships launched by smugglers based in Libya. Sometimes fishing boats or rubber boats crowded with migrants arrive on the island without help after sailing off the coast of Tunisia.
Asylum applications from many of the immigrants are often denied by Italy unless they can document that they are fleeing war and other conflicts or persecutions, not poverty. Migrants hope to reach relatives or get a job in Europe.