Migrant crisis in Europe: 400 people are still stranded on boats

Four hundred people who were on a fishing boat off the coast of southern Italy have yet to be rescued, more than two days after activists sounded the alarm.

The boat, which is believed to have set off from Tobruk in Libya, was escorted by the Italian coast guard on Tuesday.

An unofficial hotline for migrants in distress said the situation on the ship remained “dire”.

The Italian Coast Guard said difficult sea conditions affected the rescue operation.

The boat is one of two ships carrying migrants currently assisted by the Italian Coast Guard. The second holds 800 people and is said to be overcrowded.

The country’s coast guard has already rescued around 2,000 people in other operations since Friday, after a number of boats arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa, one of the main ports of entry for people wanting to reach Europe, over the weekend.

The German non-profit organization ResQship said at least two migrants died and about 20 others were missing after their boat sank on Saturday night.

The boat, which was carrying 400 people, was located by Alarm Phone in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Sicily on Tuesday.

“Despite seeing the rescue assets, who escort them, the situation on board the ship is dire,” the telephone alert hotline said He said. “[People on board] Several medical emergencies reported, water filling up the vessel and no fuel left.”

An urgent alert was first raised with the authorities of Italy, Greece and Malta on Sunday when the boat was found floating in Maltese waters, Vaughn Alert said.

German NGO Sea-Watch International said two merchant vessels near the boat had been ordered not to assist in rescue efforts by Malta while the boat was in Maltese waters. Instead, one of the ships was allowed to supply fuel and water.

The Maltese Armed Forces told the Malta Independent newspaper that “the people on board did not request any rescue”. In response, an alarm phone chirp She sent 21 emails to the Maltese authorities requesting a rescue. “We called and requested rescue only to be suspended,” she added.

The boat then drifted into Italian waters and was thought to be off the coast of Syracuse on Tuesday.

Italy’s coast guard said on Tuesday that exorbitant sea conditions meant a rescue operation was still underway.

She added that this also applied to the second boat, which was carrying 800 people, and which was said to be overcrowded. It is not clear where the boat set off from.

The number of immigrant arrivals in Italy has risen sharply compared to the same period last year, despite the efforts of the right-wing coalition government to clamp down on irregular migration.

According to the control group Missing Migrants Project of the International Organization for MigrationMore than 26,000 people have died or are missing at sea in the central Mediterranean since 2014.