ROME, May 13 (PNA/Xinhua) -- At
least 14 people died and around 200 others went missing when a boat packed with
migrants sank between Libya and southern Sicily, Italy, on Monday.
The boat carrying as many as
400 Italy-bound North Africans, according to survivors, capsized some 185 km
south of Lampedusa island, Italy's southmost point. Around 215 survivors were
rescued.
Naval forces and merchant ships
were working tirelessly to rescue people on board, but as time passed, the
possibility of finding new survivors was shrinking, La Stampa newspaper said.
The wreck, the latest in a long
series of similar tragedies, sparked an immediate debate in Italy about the
increasing waves of migrants arriving every year, especially in summer and good
weather conditions.
"The flows of migrants
have become incessant, they are continuously arriving in Italy," President
of the Italian Red Cross Francesco Rocca said, stressing that the country is
incapable of facing the migrant crisis with its own strength.
Last week, as many as 1,000
asylum seekers landed in Sicily, the latest arrivals adding to more than 25,000
migrants who had reached Italy in the first few months of this year. Most of
the migrants are reportedly from sub-Saharan Africa, with an increasing number
from Syria and the Palestinian territories.
The unsustainable overcrowded
conditions in Italy's migrant centers have repeatedly been exposed.
The Interior Ministry had
estimated earlier this month that some 800,000 North Africans were poised to
set off for Europe.
In fact, most of the migrants
landing in Italy have different final destinations in Europe, experts have
found.
But the EU "is letting
Italy accommodate the survivors," Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said
on Monday, complaining "Europe is not helping Italy."
Echoing his words, Justice
Minister Andrea Orlando highlighted a serious "cooperation deficit"
at the European and international level, calling for a "strong
signal" from European authorities.
Italian authorities have said
that sea operations are insufficient to prevent more fatalities and have called
for the creation of a "humanitarian corridor" and greater support for
rescue and resettlement efforts from the EU.
Rescue operations for sea
patrol missions cost the Italian government more than 9 million euros (USD 12.3
million) every month. (PNA/Xinhua)
JBP/EBP
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