Italy Rescues Dozens of Migrants from Capsized Boats

The Italian Coast Guard announced on Sunday that the bodies of two migrants, a child and a woman, were found on the shores of the island of Lampedusa in southern Italy, and 57 others were rescued. After three boats belonging to traffickers from North Africa capsized in the waters off Lampedusa, migrants were significantly rescued by the Italian Coast Guard. Coast Guard members used a rope ladder to bring the migrants aboard the rescue ship. According to survivors, about 30 migrants are missing. Prior to the discovery of these two bodies on Saturday, a total of 1,814 migrants had lost their lives in 2023 while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Italy in boats that departed from Tunisia or Libya. In recent days, more than 2,000 people have arrived on the island of Lampedusa following rescues by Italian patrol boats and groups affiliated with non-governmental organizations. Italy has seen approximately 92,000 migrants arrive so far this calendar year, while the number of newly arrived refugees during the same period last year was about 42,000. For years, migrants have boarded unseaworthy trafficker boats in the turbulent waters of the Mediterranean in hopes of seeking asylum or finding family or work, especially in Northern European countries, to reach the southern shores of Europe. The European Union's Human Rights Watch is investigating the sinking of migrant boats. Severe heat and fires on both sides of the Mediterranean; Greece: There is no magic solution to the problem. The Italian police seized a $946 million cocaine shipment.