Dozens of Tunisians feared drowned as migrant emergency escalates in southern Italy

[News_Editor]

Dozens of Tunisians feared drowned as migrant emergency escalates in southern Italy

2011-03-16 01:12:15 GMT+7 (ICT)

ROME, ITALY (BNO NEWS) -- Authorities on Tuesday informed that dozen of Tunisians went missing and are feared dead after a boat sank near the southern Italian island of Lampedusa where thousands of African migrants have arrived.

According to the ANSA news agency, , a boat sank on Monday night as it was heading to the shores of southern Italy. Only five people have been rescued and the rest are missing and are feared drowned.

The boat was carrying approximately 70 North African migrants and departed from the Tunisian port of Zarzis. An additional 129 people were rescued overnight from a boat that was taking on water south of Lampedusa.

The Italian navy stopped a Moroccan ferry carrying over 1,800 people feeling from the troubled Libya. The ship claimed that it only intended to refuel in Sicily before heading home.

Over 1,600 people have landed in the island which is close to the Italian border with Tunisia and Libya since Monday. The continuing landing of migrants has escalated the emergency in the European country which has witnessed the arrival of around 10,000 people since January.

On Monday, Marine Le Pen, leader of France's far-right National Front and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), visited Lampedusa. The French politician called on Italian authorities to prevent migrant landing as the European Union is not capable of doing so.

Italy has requested assistance from the EU to cope with the migrant emergency. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has promised to aid with the situation.

"The whole Commission and I, personally, want to offer the utmost support and financial aid. Italy is on the front line along its southern coasts and it has legitimate cause for concern over the migrant influx," said Barroso.

On March 3, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that the cabinet approved a humanitarian mission in order to help refugees' efforts on the southern border. Around 2,800 people are currently in Lampedusa's migrant reception center, which is designed to accommodate 800.

The mission was an explicit request from the Tunisian and Egyptian governments to aid in the safe repatriation of both countries' citizens from the troubled Libya. It will also improve conditions at a refugee camp on the Libyan-Tunisian border run by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-03-16